THE 

HISTORY 

or  NATIONS 


SOUTH  AMLPICA 


THE  INCA    (EMPEROR)   AND   COYA    (EMPRESS), 
ATTENDED  BY  THEIR  CCUMILLU  (DWARF), 
'     SITTING  IN  STATE 
Drawn  from  description  furnished  by  the  Inca  Garcillasso  de  la 
Vega,  historian  of  Peru 


w.  s 


■'-^!. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  NATIONS 

HENRY  CABOT  LODGE  ,PhD.LL.D.,EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 


SOUTH  AMERICA 

Translated  and  edited  from  the  work  of 

ALFPED  JOSEPH  DLBEPLE 

by 

PHILIP  PATTERSON  WELLSPhD 

Lecturer  in  History  and  Librarian  of  the  Law  School 
Yale  University 


Volume  XXI 


Illustrated 


The  H  .W.  Snow  and  Son  Company 

C  h   i    c    a    ^    o 


Copyright,  1907,  by 
JOHN  D.  MORRIS  &  COMPANY 


Copyri(;ht,  1910 
THE  H.  W.  SXOW  &  SOX  COMPANY 


Si 


THE   HISTORY   OF  NATIONS 


EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 


HENRY  CABOT  LODGE,  PL.D.,  L.L.D. 

Associate  Editors  and  Authors 


ARCHIBALD  HENRY  SAYCE,  LL.D., 

Professor    of    Assyriology,     Oxford     Uni- 
versity 


SIR  ROBERT  K.  DOUGLAS, 

Professor  of  Chinese,  King's  College,  Loa- 
don 


CHRISTOPHER  JOHNSTON,  M.D.,  Ph.D., 

Associate  Professor  of  Oriental  History  and 
Archaeology,  Johns  Hopkins  University 


C.  W.  C.  OMAN,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  History,  Oxford  University 


THEODOR  MOMMSEN. 

Late   Professor  of  Ancient    History,   Uni- 
versity of  Berlin 


ARTHUR  C.  HOWLAND,  Ph.D., 

Department  of  History,  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania 


JEREMIAH  WHIPPLE  JENKS,  Ph.D.,  LL.D., 

Professor  of   Political   Economy  and   Pol- 
itics, Cornell  University 


KANICHI  ASAKAWA,  Ph.D., 

Instructor    in    the    History    of    Japanese 
Civilization,  Yale  University 


WILFRED  HAROLD  MUNRO,  Ph.D., 

Professor    of    European    History,     Brown 

University 


G.  MERCER  ADAM, 

Historian  and  Editor 


FRED  MORROW  FLING,  Ph.D., 

Professor  of  European  History.  University 
of  Nebraska 


CHARLES  MERIVALE.  LL.D., 

Late   Dean  of   Ely,   formerly   Lecturer  in 
History,  Cambridge  University 


FRANCOIS  AUGUSTE  MARIE  MIGNET, 

Late  Member  of  the  French  Academy 


JAMES  WESTFALL  THOMPSON,  Ph.D., 
J    HIGGINSON  CABOT,  Ph.D.,  Deoartment    of     History,     University    of 

Depaitment  of   History,  Wellesley  College  Chicago 


SIR  WILLIAM  W.  HUNTER,  F.R.S., 

Late  Director-General  of  Statistics  in  India 


SAMUEL  RAWSON  GARDINER,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  Modern  History,  King's  Col- 
lege. London 


R.  W.  JOYCE,  LL.D., 
OEOROE  M.  DUTCHER.  Ph.D.,  Commissioner  for  the  Publication  of  th« 

Professor  of  History,  Wesleyan  University  Ancient  Laws  of  Ireland 

vi 


ASSOCIATE  EDITORS  AND   AUTHORS-ConUnued 


JUSTIN  McCarthy,  ll.d,. 

Author  and  Historian 


PAUL  LOUIS  LEGER. 

Professor  of  the  Slav  LanKuaRes,  C6\\effe 
de  France 


AUGUSTUS  HUNT  SHEARER,  Ph.D.. 

Instructor    in     History.     Trinity    College.        WILLIAM  E.  LINGLEBACH,  Ph.D., 

Hartford  Assistant    Professor  of  European    History, 

University  of  Pennsylvania 

W.  HAROLD  CLAFLIIT,  BJ^., 

Department    of    History.     Harvard     Uni-       BAYARD  TAYLOR, 


versity 


Former  United  States  Minister  to  Germany 


CHARLES  DANDLIKER,  LL.D., 

President  of  Zurich  University 


SIDNEY  B.  FAY,  Ph.D., 

Professor  of   History,    Dartmouth   College 


ELBERT  JAY  BENTON.  Ph.D., 

sartment 
Jniversity 


Department  of  History,  Western  Reserve 

Ur 


SIR  EDWARD  S.  CREASY, 

Late  Professor  of  History,  University  Col- 
lege, London 

ARCHIBALD  CARY  COOLIDGE,  Ph.D., 

Assistant    Professor   of    History,    Harvard 
University 


WILLIAM  RICHARD  MORFILL,  M.A., 

Professor  of   Russian   and   other  Slavonic 
Languages,  Oxford  University 


CHARLES  EDMUND  FRYER,  Ph.D., 

Department  of  History,  McGill  University 

E.  C.  OTTE, 

Specialist  on  Scandinavian  History 

EDWARD  S.  CORWIN,  Ph.D., 

Instructor    in     History,     Princeton     Uni- 
versity 


J.  SCOTT  KELTIE,  LL.D., 

President  Royal  Geographical  Society 


ALBERT  GALLOWAY  KELLER,  Ph.D., 

Assistant   Professor  of  the  Science  of  So- 
ciety, Yale  University 


EDWARD  JAMES  PAYNE,  M.A., 

Fellow  of  University  College,  Oxford 

PHILIP  PATTERSON  WELLS,  Ph.D., 

Lecturer  in  History  and  Librarian  of  the 
Law  School,  Yale  University 


FREDERICK  ALBION  OBER, 

Historian,  Author  and  Traveler 


JAMES  WILFORD  GARNER,  Ph.D., 

Professor  of  Political  Science,   University 
of  Illinois 


JOHN  BACH  McMASTER,  Litt.D.,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  History.  University  of  Penn 
sylvania 


JAMES  LAMONT  PERKINS,  M«iuiim<  Editor 


The  editors  and  publishers  desire  to  express  their  appreciation  for  valuabla 
advice  and  suggestions  received  from  the  following:  Hon.  Andrew  D.  White, 
LL.D.,  Alfred  Thayer  Mahan,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  Hon.  Charles  Emory  Smith, 
LL.D.,  Professor  Edward  Gaylord  Bourne,  Ph.D.,  Charles  F.  Thwing, 
LL.D.,  Dr.  Emil  Reich,  William  Elliot  Griffis,  LL.D.,  Professor  John 
Martin  Vincent,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Melvil  Dewey,  LL.D.,  Alston  Ellis,  LL.D., 
Professor  Charles  H.  McCarthy,  Ph.D.,  Professor  Herman  V.  Ames,  Ph.D., 
Professor  Walter  L.  Fleming,  Ph.D.,  Professor  David  Y.  Thomas,  Ph.D., 
Mr.  Otto  Reich  and  Mr.  O.  M.  Dickerson. 

vii 


PREFACE 

Deberle's  "  Histoire  de  I'Amcriqiie  du  siid  depiiis  la  conquetc 
jusqu'd  nos  jours  "  was  first  published  at  Paris  in  1876.  A  third 
edition,  revised  and  brought  down  to  date  by  Albert  Milhaud,  was 
published  in  1897.  The  first  edition  was  plagiarized  by  an  unknown 
Spaniard,  who  added  some  pages  on  the  colonial  system  from 
Robertson's  "  America "  and  such  minor  variations  of  the  text 
as  might  be  expected  from  a  journalist  with  some  knowledge  of 
South  American  affairs,  and  published  the  whole  at  Barcelona  in 
1878  under  the  title:  "  Historia  de  la  America  del  Siir,  desde  sii 
desciibrimiento,  hasta  niiestros  dias,  etc.,  etc.,  por  itn  Americano." 
The  final  chapter,  on  Patagonia,  may  pass  for  an  original  pro- 
duction of  this  "  author."  This  Spanish  version  was  innocently 
translated  into  English  by  Adnah  D.  Jones  and  published  in  Lon- 
don and  New  York  in  1899  under  the  title:  "History  of  South 
America  from  its  discovery  to  the  present  time,  etc.,  etc.,  by  an 
American."  The  blunder  was  the  more  absurd  because  Milhaud's 
edition  of  Deberle  had  been  published  in  Paris  only  fwo  years 
before,  so  that  Jones'  version  was  not  only  a  fraud,  but  was  more 
than  twenty  years  out  of  date  when  it  issued  from  the  press. 

Deberle's  book  is  the  best  short  outline  of  the  general  history 
of  South  America.  Milhaud  added:  an  introduction  summarizing 
briefly  our  knowledge  of  pre-Columbian  America ;  a  third  part  and 
supplementary  pages  to  some  of  Deberle's  chapters,  briefly  nar- 
rating the  history  of  the  twenty  years  preceding  his  edition;  and 
a  bibliography.  In  this  translation  all  the  matter  relating  to  the 
years  1877-1910  has  been  collected  in  Part  III,  w^hich  has  been 
freely  adapted  and  rewritten  for  that  purpose.  Deberle's  text  in 
Parts  I  and  II  has  been  translated,  with  such  slight  changes  and 
omissions  as  the  events  of  the  last  thirty  years  have  made  neces- 
sary; but  errors  of  fact  have  been  corrected,  such  as  the  statement 
that  the  Indians  were  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Inquisition 
(Part  I,  Chapter  III) ;  and  passages  showing  a  decided  bias  on  the 


X 


PREFACE 


part  of  the  author  have  been  modified  in  accordance  with  the  results 
of  the  most  recent  research.  This  has  been  done  in  certain  passages 
denouncing  the  CathoHc  Church  and  the  Spanish  Colonial  System. 
Deberle  sometimes  wrote  as  might  be  expected  of  an  anti-clericalist 
in  the  early  days  of  the  third  French  Republic,  and  failed  to  balance 
his  account  of  the  crimes  of  the  conquistadores  by  the  humane 
legislation  first  inspired  by  Las  Casas. 


INTRODUCTION 


SOUTH    AMERICA    BEFORE    COLUMBUS 

SCHOLARS  and  historians  have  busied  themselves  with  the 
past  of  America  before  the  arrival  of  Columbus,  of  pre- 
Columbian  America  as  it  is  called.  Existing  races,  legends, 
and  archaeological  monuments  furnish  the  basis  for  this  study. 

The  first  questions  which  demanded  answers  were:  Was 
America  peopled  by  men  from  the  Eurasian  continent  ?  Has  it  ex- 
perienced invasions  and  great  immigrations?  Are  there  in  ethnic 
characteristics,  customs,  and  technique  of  the  arts  and  trades,  points 
of  resemblance  between  the  men  of  America  and  those  of  other 
parts  of  the  world? 

Some  think  that  they  have  found  such  resemblances  and  an- 
alogies, finding  material  for  the  comparison  of  the  old  American 
races  and  those  of  the  ancient  world.  They  cite  similar  funeral 
customs  among  the  Mexicans,  Peruvians,  Egyptians,  and  Guanches ; 
these  diverse  peoples  all  embalmed  the  dead  and  adorned  them 
with  necklaces.  In  Peru,  as  in  Egypt,  the  embalmers  placed  small 
plates  of  silver  in  the  dead  man's  mouth.  In  Europe,  as  in  Amer- 
ica, they  have  found  tiimiili  used  as  monuments  of  the  dead;  in 
both  continents  the  customs  of  burning  and  of  burying  the  dead 
have  existed  side  by  side. 

Moreover,  the  idea  of  the  deluge,  which  is  so  widespread 
among  Eurasian  peoples,  exists  among  the  Americans.  They,  too, 
believe  that  a  cataclysm  destroyed  all  mankind  except  certain 
favored  couples.  There  are  resemblances  between  the  American 
cosmogonies  and  those  of  ancient  civilization  in  Europe. 

Nevertheless,  these  arguments  are  held  by  some  scholars  to  be 
insufficient  proof  of  a  common  origin.  These  reply  that  such  like- 
nesses may  spring  from  the  parallel  and  independent  development 
of  human  society  on  the  two  continents.  To  the  claims  of  the  mono- 
genistic  school,  another  school  of  scientific  Americanists  answers 
that  the  native  race  is  autochthonous  and  has  simply  been  modified 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

by  crossing's.  Others  accept  the  theory  of  a  plurality  of  races  (Vir- 
chovv,  "  Etat  gctwrale  des  connaissances  concernant  I'anthropologie 
amcricane,"  i^yy),  and  like  Koleman  in  particular,  arrive  at  this 
conclusion  by  the  study  of  fossil  American  skulls  {"Die  Autoch- 
thonen  Amerikas: "  Zeitschrift  fiir  Ethnologic,  1883). 

It  would  be  difficult  to  prove  the  case  either  way  beyond  a 
doubt.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  origin  of  the  American  races 
it  seems  probable  that  they  have  been  subjected  to  foreign  influ- 
ences, though  it  is  very  difficult  to  say  at  what  time. 

Immigration  may  have  come  from  the  northwest  by  way  of 
Bering  Sea ;  from  the  northeast  by  way  of  the  Atlantic ;  from  the 
Pacific  islands,  aided  by  the  favoring  ocean  currents;  and,  per- 
haps, from  that  land  of  Atlantis  whose  existence  was  formerly 
questioned  as  legendary,  but  is  now  a  permissible  scientific  conjec- 
ture in  the  light  of  geological  knowledge. 

The  most  has  been  made  of  some  arguments  in  favor  of  for- 
eign influence: 

Esquara,  the  language  of  the  Basques,  has  certain  analogies 
with  different  North  American  tongues.  Similar  likenesses  between 
the  American  and  the  Uro-Altaic  languages  have  been  noted  by 
Forschammer  {"  Vergleichiing  des  amerikanischcn  Sprachen  mit 
den  Ural-Altdischen  hinsichtlich  ihrer  Grammatik  "). 

The  calendar  of  the  civilized  American  peoples  (before  the 
arrival  of  the  Spaniards)  is  like  that  of  the  Hindus,  Thibetans, 
Chinese,  and  Japanese.  Another  still  more  striking  fact  is  that 
there  are  found  among  the  archseologic  monuments  of  Central 
America,  where  the  elephant  is  unknown,  objects  representing 
elephants'  trunks  and  heads,  etc. 

Some  scholars  go  further  and  specify  the  Chinese,  and  per- 
haps the  Japanese  also,  as  the  bearers  of  Asiatic  customs  and  civ- 
ilization to  America.  A  country  which  may  be  identified  as  Amer- 
ica was  visited  by  the  Chinese,  as  their  annalists  show.  "  Formerly 
the  religion  of  Buddha  did  not  exist  in  those  countries;  it  was  in 
the  fourth  year  of  the  reign  of  Hiao-wu-te  of  Song  (485  a.  d.) 
that  five  pi-khieon  or  monks  of  the  country  of  Ki-pin,  went  to 
Fusang  and  spread  the  law  of  Buddha.  They  took  with  them 
the  books,  the  holy  images,  and  the  ritual,  and  instituted  mon- 
astic customs  there  which  changed  the  morality  of  the  people." 
Thus  are  explained  the  signal  resemblances  in  cosmogony  and  in 
certain  traits  of  civilization.    Thus  are  explained  certain  analogous 


INTRODUCTION  xlii 

customs  of  the  Peruvians  and  the  Chinese,  such  as  the  detailed  rules 
which  determine  all  the  outward  acticjns  of  men,  the  annual  fete 
held  in  honor  of  agriculturists,  the  high  esteem  in  which  agriculture 
is  held,  the  system  of  irrigating  canals,  the  payment  of  taxes  in  kind, 
the  building  of  suspension  bridges,  the  likenesses  in  architecture,  the 
resemblance  of  the  Chinese  junk  and  the  Peruvian  barque.  To 
the  objection  that  the  incas  did  not  flourish  till  six  centuries 
later,  the  only  possible  reply  for  the  supporters  of  the  Chinese 
theory  is  that  at  the  time  of  Kublai  Khan  a  fleet  sent  against  Japan 
was  thrown  upon  the  coasts  of  South  America,  However  this  may 
be,  miniature  golden  figures  found  among  the  tombs  of  the  Muys- 
cas  represent  the  Mongolian  type  quite  accurately. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  evidences  of  western  influence: 
it  has  been  observed  that  the  people  of  Central  America,  like  those  of 
ancient  Egypt,  have  a  red,  or  copper-colored,  skin  and  are  almost 
always  beardless.  The  two  countries  are  strangely  alike  in  their 
pottery,  obelisks,  pyramids,  equal  months  of  thirty  days  each,  a 
year  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  days  with  five  intercalendar  days 
added,  at  Thebes  as  in  Mexico.  The  Mexicans  of  to-day  wind 
about  their  bodies  a  striped  fabric  so  as  to  form  a  petticoat  falling 
below  the  knees.  So  did  the  Egyptians  of  former  times,  for  this 
was  the  costume  of  Isis. 

We  can  only  state  these  facts  and  conflicting  theories.  In 
the  present  imperfect  state  of  knowledge  with  respect  to  the  his- 
tory of  primitive  America  it  is  too  early  to  adopt  any  definite 
conclusion,  but  we  cannot  entirely  neglect  the  results  of  the  nu- 
merous investigators  in  this  strange  field. 

For  the  period  before  the  fifteenth  century  we  can  safely  affirm 
as  follows : 

Man  existed  in  America  in  the  Stone  Age,  to  use  the  terms  of 
archaeology,  or  in  the  quaternary,  and  perhaps  in  the  tertiary  ages, 
in  the  language  of  geologists. 

The  civilization  of  the  old  and  new  worlds,  whether  in  contact 
or  not,  developed  along  parallel  lines. 

There  are  several  American  races:  the  most  ancient  peoples 
of  the  Andine  chain  seem  to  have  come  from  Asia  and  have  points 
of  resemblance  to  the  Mongols ;  the  most  ancient  peoples  in  Amer- 
ica are  probably  the  Bocudos  and  Patagonians.^ 

1  See  M.  de  Nadillac's  "  I'Amerique  prehistorique,"  from  wliicK  the  greater 
part  of  the  foregoing  information  is  taken;  a  v/ork  richer  in  documents  than 
in  criticism. 


xlv  INTRODUCTION 

When  the  Spaniards  landed  in  America  they  found  the  natives 
in  two  widely  different  stages  of  civilization,  some  civilized,  others 
still  barbarous  and  in  many  cases  nomadic. 

The  civilized  peoples  were  grouped  in  the  high  valleys  and 
upon  the  tablelands  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  of  the  Andine 
chain.  Perhaps  they  were  able  to  develop  their  civilization  there 
more  readily  because  the  less  oppressive  temperature  was  more 
favorable  to  mental  activity,  and  natural  barriers  secured  to  them 
protection,  peace,  and  the  development  of  the  arts  which  is  depend- 
ent on  peace.  These  civilized  peoples  were  the  Aztecs  of  Mexico, 
the  Mayas  of  Central  America,  the  Muyscas  or  Chibchas  in  the 
high  valleys  of  Colombia  and  on  the  tableland  of  Condinamarca, 
the  Quichas  of  Peru  and  Ecuador,  and  the  Aymaras  of  Bolivia. 

The  nomads,  for  the  most  part  living  by  the  chase,  are  the 
Redskins  of  North  America,  the  Caribs  in  the  Antilles  and  on  the 
nearby  continental  coasts,  the  Aruacs  in  Guiana,  the  Antis  eastward 
of  the  Andes  in  the  Amazon  valley,  the  Carayus,  the  Panos,  the 
Miravhas  of  the  Brazilian  tableland,  the  Tupis  or  Guaranis,  the 
Guayturas,  the  Gaytacas  or  Puris,  the  Chworas  in  the  region  of 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  finally  the  Patagonians  and  the  Araucans  at  the 
southern  extremity  of  South  America. 

It  must  be  said  that  selva  and  pampa,  thick  tangled  forests 
and  endless  steppes,  afforded  poor  centers  for  social  groups,  and 
these  conditions  may  perhaps  explain  in  part  the  social  and  political 
inferiority  of  the  peoples  of  the  plain. 

The  ethnic  characteristics  of  the  South  American  aborigines 
have  been  clearly  noted  by  £lisee  Reclus  {" Amerique  dii  Slid/'  1. 1.)  : 
"  In  general  the  natives  of  South  America  differ  from  those  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  and  Mississippi  valleys  in  the  color  of  the  skin.  They 
are  not  red  or  copper-colored,^  but,  according  to  geographical  situa- 
tion and  race,  are  of  two  distinct  colors,  olive  brown  and  yellow  with 
gradations  of  intermediate  shades.  If  we  consider  large  divisions 
we  may  say  in  a  general- manner  that  brown  prevails  among  the  An- 
deans  and  yellow  among  the  Indians  of  the  plains  and  of  the 
mountains  of  Guiana  and  of  Brazil.^ 

What  is  the  cause  of  this  difference  in  color  between  these 
groups  of  Indian  nations  ?  Doubtless  it  is  not  extraordinary.  The 
contrasts  of  climate,  occupation,  manner  of  life,  and  nourishment 

2  Alex  von  Humboldt,  "  Voyage  au  regions  equinoxialcs." 

3  A.  d'Orbigny,  "  I' Homme  Americain." 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

contribute  in  different  proportions  to  produce  the  difference  in  the 
color  of  the  skin.  We  must  remember  as  facts  of  ^reat  importance 
that  the  Andeans  of  the  west  Hve  in  a  chmate  which  is  dry,  or  at 
least  has  a  far  lower  degree  of  humidity  than  the  eastern  lands, 
that  they  are  for  the  most  part  agricultural  peoples,  and  that  their 
food  is  chiefly  vegetable.  In  the  plains  the  tribes  of  hunters  and 
fishers  subsist  chiefly  upon  flesh. 

The  shape  of  the  skull  and  height  of  the  figure  differ,  but  the 
differences  in  these  respects  between  the  different  nations  and  tribes 
do  not  give  a  sharp  classification  by  which  we  can  regularly  group 
the  Indians  according  to  race  characteristics.  While  differing  in 
some  respects,  all  the  natives  resemble  each  other  in  their  thick, 
black,  smooth  hair,  in  the  absence  of  a  beard,  shortness  of  chin, 
small  size  of  the  deep-sunken  eyes,  strength  of  the  jaws,  and  beauty 
of  the  teeth.  They  are  by  nature  of  good  figure,  a  fact  attrib- 
utable to  the  perfect  freedom  of  movement  which  the  mothers 
allow  their  children,  who  are  almost  always  entirely  naked. 

They  suffered  one  great  disadvantage  in  comparison  with  the 
l)eoples  of  the  old  world.  They  had  no  domestic  animals  whose 
strength  they  could  add  to  their  own.  Their  extraordinary  skill  in 
taming  wild  beasts  gave  them  pets,  but  added  nothing  to  their 
powers ;  for  this  purpose  they  had  only  the  lama  and  the  dog, 
wdiile  the  natives  of  other  parts  of  the  world  had  the  camel,  the 
horse,  the  ass,  the  ox,  the  dog,  and  the  sheep. 

In  North  America  the  Spaniards  found  an  empire  which  they 
destroyed  and  a  civilization  which  they  extinguished :  the  empire 
and  civilization  of  the  Aztecs.  When  they  entered  South  America 
they  found  another  empire  with  a  remarkable  organization  and  a 
brilliant  civilization,  in  the  region  which  we  now  call  Peru. 

The  empire  of  the  incas  was  founded  in  the  eleventh  century. 
It  succeeded  that  of  a  more  ancient  civilized  people — the  Aymaras, 
whose  monuments  are  still  extant.  The  language  of  the  Quichua 
people,  of  whom  the  incas  w^re  the  chiefs,  was  spoken  in  what 
is  now  Ecuador,  Peru,  Bolivia,  and  Chili.  It  was  first  reduced  to 
writing  by  the  Spaniards,  who  expressed  it  in  Latin  characters. 

For  the  beginning  of  the  history  of  the  incas  we  have  a  legend : 
Manco  Capac  and  his  sister,  Manco  Oello  Huaco,  children  of  the 
Sun,  left  the  region  of  Lake  Titicaca  toward  the  end  of  the  eleventh 
century  and  moved  northward,  seeking  a  place  for  settlement.  In 
different  spots  they  tried  to  thrust  a  gold  coin  into  the  resisting 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

soil.  At  length  the  coin  buried  itself  in  the  ground :  Manco  Capac 
had  found  the  place  fixed  by  the  fates  for  his  residence.  The  town 
of  Cuzco  was  founded,  he  became  king  (inca),  and  his  fourteen 
descendants  governed  the  empire  which  the  Europeans  discov- 
ered, that  is  to  say  the  region  which  is  included  in  the  tableland 
and  coast  of  Peru,  Ecuador,  a  part  of  Bolivia,  and  Chili  as  far  as  the 
land  of  the  Araucanians. 

The  incas  worshiped  the  sun,  but  the  theogony  of  the  con- 
quered peoples  modified  that  of  their  conquerors  so  that  we  find 
other  coexisting  cults,  as  in  the  east,  that  of  Viracocha,  who  created 
the  sun  and  formed  men  out  of  stones.  In  the  west  that  of  Pa- 
chaemac  (soul  or  source  of  the  world)  was  the  god  of  the  masses. 

The  social  organization  of  the  empire  was  two-fold — 3.  caste 
system  and  a  system  of  communism. 

The  soil  was  divided  into  four  portions  of  equal  area.  The 
first  was  allotted  to  the  laborers  and  their  families,  the  second  to 
the  infirm,  and  to  widows  and  orphans,  the  third  to  the  inca  and 
the  official  class,  and  the  fourth  to  the  sun,  or  in  other  words  to 
the  priests.  As  the  inca  was  both  the  political  and  religious  head 
of  the  empire  he  owned  half  the  soil.  Cattle  and  crops  were  owned 
in  common,  each  man  taking  what  he  needed,  but  the  inca  made 
provision  to  prevent  scarcity ;  to  him  belonged  the  gold  and  silver 
from  the  mines  of  Cerro  de  Pasco  and  of  Lake  Titicaca. 

The  mass  of  the  people  tilled  the  soil  and  made  clothing,  arms, 
and  tools.  The  study  of  theology,  mathematics,  and  astronomy, 
of  the  sciences  and  the  arts,  of  history,  legislation  and  politics, 
and  the  use  of  arms  were  the  privileges  of  the  children  of  the 
inca  and  of  the  nobles.  Education  was  regulated  by  the  state 
and  marriage  was  obligatory. 

The  country  was  divided  into  four  provinces :  the  northern, 
southern,  eastern,  and  western,  governed  by  officers'  called  curacas. 
The  highway  system  was  remarkable,  and  there  were  inns  and 
storehouses  for  the  use  of  the  royal  couriers  to  expedite  their  jour- 
neys so  that  the  orders  of  the  sovereign  were  promptly  transmitted 
and  obeyed. 

The  Quichuas  built  fortresses  and  temples  of  a  uniform  archi- 
tectural type;  they  could  build  dams  and  throw  up  earthworks; 
they  wove  cloth  and  worked  in  metals.  Their  agriculture  was  en- 
lightened, they  built  aqueducts,  dug  irrigating  canals,  and  used 
guano  as  a  fertilizer.    They  were  good  sailors.    They  were  not  con- 


INTRODUCTION  xvll 

tent  to  hug  the  shore,  but  struck  boldly  into  the  high  seas  and  pene- 
trated to  the  Gallapagos  Islands,  more  than  600  miles  to  the  west. 
Pizarro's  pilot,  Ruiz  de  Estrada,  tells  us  that  their  ships  were  well 
built  and  could  stand  a  heavy  sea.  They  were  rigged  with  two 
masts  and  square  sails.  It  has  already  been  remarked  that  the 
Quichuas  divided  the  year  into  365  days  and  knew  how  to  calculate 
eclipses  and  the  sun's  motion. 

The  conquerors,  to  be  sure,  exaggerated  the  wonders  of  the 
country  they  had  subdued,  wishing  to  dazzle  Europe  by  their  story 
and  the  fame  of  their  achievement.  Nevertheless  it  is  certain 
that  they  did  find  civilized  regions.  We  hasten  to  add  that  they 
wasted  them.  The  population,  relatively  dense  when  the  Spanish 
arrived,  was  decimated  by  massacres,  epidemics,  and  crop  failures, 
brought  on  by  a  conquest  too  ignorant  to  appreciate  the  wisely  ar- 
ranged social  order  and  the  well  organized  government  of  the 
natives. 

Albert  Milhaud. 


CONTENTS 

PART    I 

SPANISH    AND    PORTUGUESE    SOUTH    AMERICA 
1492-1504 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  The  Discovery  of  America.     1492-1504         .         .  3 

II.  Conquest.      1493-1713    ......  14 

III.  Colonization.      1534-1810      .....  36 

IV.  Independence — The    Creation    of   New    Nations 

1808-1826 54 

PART    II 
INDEPENDENT    SOUTH    AMERICA.     1834-1876 
V.  The  United  States  of  Colombia  (New  Granada) 


1824-1876  

VI.  The  United  States  of  Venezuela.     1829-1876 
VII.  The  Republic  of  Ecuador.     1831-1876  . 
VIII.  The  Argentine  Republic.     1820-1876    . 
IX.  The  Oriental  Republic  of  Uruguay.     1828- 1876 
X.  The  Republic  of  Paraguay.     1811-1876 
XL  The  Empire  of  Brazil.     1808-1876 
XII.  Bolivar  and  Bolivia.     1825-1876  . 

XIII.  Peru.     1825-1876 

XIV.  Chili.     1825-1876  ..... 

PART    III 
THE   PRESENT  SOUTH  AMERICA.     1876-1910 

XV.  The  War  of  the  Pacific — The  Andine  States  and 

Venezuela.     1876-1910 
XVI.  Brazil.     1876-1910         .... 
XVII.  The  States  of  the  La  Plata.     1876-1910 
XVIII.  Boundary  Disputes.     1890-1910     . 
XIX.  Conclusion 


77 

94 

105 

118 

137 

147 
162 
181 
192 
215 


248 
256 
261 
266 


XX  CONTENTS 


APPENDIX 


PAGE 


Programme  of  the  International  Conference  of  Ameri- 
can Republics  at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  July  23,  1906    .         .     277 
The  Third  International  American  Conference     .         .     280 
Latin  America  and  Colombia  .....     291 

A  New  Peruvian  Route  to  the  Plain  of  the  Amazon       .     305 

Falls  of  Iguazu .         .3^4 

Three  Old  Ports  on  the  Spanish  Main  .  .  .  .  3^8 
South  America  Fifty  Years  Hence  .  ..  :,.  i..  ..  3^8 
An  Awakened  Continent  to  the  South  of  Us         .        .336 

Bibliography        ,        ,        •        .        •        •        «       •         '355 

Index  .*••••»»••     3o3 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


The  Inca  and  Coya  Attended  by  Their  Ccumillu 

(Photogravure)  Frontispiece 


PiZARRO   Dares   His   Discouraged   Companions    to 
Him       ....... 

Atahualpa  is  Garrotted  at  the  Stake 

Francisco  Pizarro  | 

Pedro  de  la  Gasca  j      ' 

Llaneros  of  the  Apure  Plain  in  Venezuela 

Statue  of  Bolivar  in  Caracas 

Gauchos  Following  the  Cassowary 

Ortiz  de  Rosas     .... 

Pedro  H.      .         .         .         .         . 

The  Gate  of  Ak-Kapana 

Threshing  Out  Grain  in  Modern  Chili 

Patagonian  Savages 


FACING  PAGE 

Follow 


18 

20 

26 

62 
84 
118 
126 
172 
214 
230 
242 


TEXT   MAPS 


PAGE 

Voyages  of  Discovery 9 

South  America:    Progress  of  Settlement  ....  40 

South  America:    The  Movement  for  Independence    .         .  56 

Ecuador,  Colombia,  and  Venezuela      .....  89 

Brazil i73 

Peru             i93 

Valparaiso 223 

Battle  of  Tacna ^37 

Chief  South  American  Commercial  Centers      .         .         .  268 


PART  I 

SPANISH   AND   PORTUGUESE  SOUTH 
AMERICA     1492-1504 


HISTORY  OF  SOUTH  AMERICA 

Chapter     I 

THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA.     1492-1504 

THE  northern  parts  of  the  American  continent  were  ex- 
plored and  even  colonized  by  the  Scandinavians  at  a  very 
early  date.  Toward  the  end  of  the  tenth  century  Eric 
the  Red,  an  Icelander,  settled  in  Greenland,  which  his  compatriot, 
Gunnibiorn,  had  discovered  a  few  years  before.  The  corsairs  who 
followed  him  established  themselves  in  Newfoundland  in  the  year 
1000,  and  later  in  Nova  Scotia  and  Massachusetts.  Communica- 
tions between  Iceland  and  its  colonies  were  kept  up  until  the  middle 
of  the  fourteenth  century,  when  they  ceased,  because  of  political 
developments  in  Denmark.  All  traces  of  them  were  lost,  but  their 
memory  survived. 

In  fact,  while  Jean  de  Bethencourt,  a  Norman  gentleman,  was 
conquering-  the  Canaries  (1402),  other  Norman  adventurers  cov- 
ered the  whole  western  coast  of  Greenland  with  new  settle- 
ments. Modern  scholarship  has  sought  to  trace  these  men  as 
far  as  Brazil,  and  it  is  said  that  they  sailed  the  entire  length  of 
the  North  American  coast,  and  finally  established  a  settlement  in 
the  province  of  Bahia,  and  that  these  important  explorations  were 
known  in  Europe.  A  sea  captain  of  Dieppe  is  said  to  have  reached 
the  South  American  coasts  many  years  before  the  first  voyage  of 
Columbus.  However  this  may  be  it  was  the  achievement  of  the 
immortal  Genoese  to  fix  the  attention  of  the  Old  World  upon 
the  New. 

It  has  been  claimed,  to  be  sure,  that  the  achievement  of  the 
great  navigator  w^as  nothing  more  than  an  official  taking  possession 
of  that  part  of  the  world  and  the  credit  of  its  discovery  has  been 
denied  him.  On  the  authority  of  a  legend  four  hundred  years  old 
the  critics  have  proved  to  their  own  satisfaction  that  he  was  not 
the  first  to  tread  the  soil  of  America.  But  the  glory  of  Columbus 
shines  brightest  in  the  execution  of  his  project.  That  is  indubitably 
his  own  and  no  rival  can  make  any  pretensions  to  it. 


4  SOUTHAM ERICA 

1492 

He  appeared  in  an  age  when  enterprises  to  distant  countries 
were  the  ruhng  passion,  when  the  ambition  of  making  discoveries 
incited  to  the  perfecting  of  maritime  science  and  trained  new  navi- 
gators, when  the  discovery  of  a  sea  route  to  India  was  a  preoccupa- 
tion in  Genoa  and  Venice,  in  Spain  and  Portugal,  in  France  and 
England. 

The  humble  sailor,  unknown,  poor,  and  without  influence,  was 
seeking,  as  did  so  many  others,  a  new  road  to  Asia.  The  writings 
of  the  ancients,  his  comparison  of  these  with  the  works  of  Marco 
Polo,  scientific  computations  corroborated  by  traditions  that  he  is 
said  to  have  collected  in  a  voyage  to  Iceland,  led  him  to  believe 
that  by  sailing  westward  he  could  reach  the  east  coast  of  Asia.  He 
did  not  suspect  that  America  would  bar  his  passage. 

His  long  and  heavy  misfortunes  are  well  known.  This  alien, 
dying  of  hunger  and  covered  with  dust,  who  stops  on  his  way  to 
Palos  at  the  door  of  a  monastery  to  beg  a  bit  of  bread  and  some 
water  for  his  child,  is  the  man  destined  to  make  for  Spain  an  empire 
on  which  the  sun  was  never  to  set.  He  reached  Portugal,  but  was 
treated  as  a  visionary  by  John  II.,  and  went  to  try  his  fortune 
in  Spain  where  new  trials  awaited  him.  Struggling  with  misery 
and  repulsed  by  almost  everyone,  he  had  to  contend  against  incre- 
dulity, to  put  up  with  mockery,  and  to  argue  his  case  before  an 
ecclesiastical  council  which  answered  his  scientific  reasoning  with 
Biblical  texts.  He  would  have  resumed  his  wanderings,  staff  in 
hand,  had  not  love  detained  him.  A  lady  of  Cordova,  Beatrix 
Enriquez,  loved  the  great  man  in  his  poverty,  shared  his  obscurity, 
and  bore  him  a  son,  Fernando.  For  a  space  of  eight  years  he 
contended  against  the  scruples  of  bigotry  which  interposed  them- 
selves between  him  and  the  sovereigns.  At  last  the  queen's  con- 
fessor pronounced  judgment  for  the  theologians  that  his  project 
was  an  empty  dream.  Broken-hearted,  Columbus  set  out  for  France, 
at  the  call  of  Charles  VIII.,  when  Isabella,  giving  way  to  the  en- 
treaties of  Luiz  de  Santangel  and  of  the  Franciscan  Juan  Perez, 
two  friends  of  Columbus,  decided  to  recall  him.  Just  at  this  time 
his  brother,  Bartholomew,  whom,  in  despair  of  success  in  Spain, 
he  had  sent  to  seek  aid  of  Henry  VII.,  returned  from  England  with 
a  favorable  answer.  So  near  was  America  to  falling  to  the  lot  of 
England  or  France ! 

Columbus  appeared  at  Salamanca  before  an  ecclesiastical  coun- 
cil convened  to  pass  upon  his  project  and  was  attacked  by  texts 


DISCOVERY     OF     AMERICA  6 

1492 

drawn  from  Genesis,  the  Psalms,  and  the  prophets ;  scientific  argu- 
ments and  the  enterprise  of  genius  were  negatived  by  quotations 
from  St.  Chrysostom,  St.  Augustine,  St.  Jerome,  and  the  other 
fathers  who  had  stoutly  denied  the  sphericity  of  the  earth. 

The  Spanish  queen  secured  for  him  a  handful  of  adventurers ; 
the  city  of  Palos  was  ordered  to  furnish  two  caravels,  a  sort  of 
light  vessel  without  decks.  Columbus  and  his  friends  equipped 
at  their  own  expense  a  third,  and  soon  all  was  in  readiness  for 
departure.  He  was  to  be  viceroy  of  all  the  lands  he  might  conquer, 
with  the  right  to  appoint  governors  thereof ;  also  he  obtained  office 
of  high  admiral  for  himself,  his  descendants,  and  successors  in 
perpetuity ;  and  finally,  a  fifth  of  all  the  profits. 

The  little  fleet  sailed  from  Palos  in  the  early  morning  hours 
of  Friday,  August  3,  1492,  and  three  days  after  setting  sail  ar- 
rived at  the  Canaries,  where  it  was  obliged  to  remain  a  month  to 
repair  the  damage  that  the  ships  had  sustained.  On  September  6 
Columbus  again  set  sail  from  the  port  of  Gomera,  to  escape  three 
Portuguese  ships  which  were  cruising  in  those  parts  for  the  pur- 
pose, it  is  said,  of  seizing  the  great  navigator. 

The  incidents  of  this  voyage,  the  numerous  dangers  that  were 
run,  among  which  not  the  least  w'ere  the  ignorance  and  cowardice 
of  the  crews,  give  an  extraordinary  grandeur  to  the  figure  of  Colum- 
bus. And  we  can  understand  how  those  of  a  mystical  turn  of 
mind  were  led  to  believe  in  him  as  a  supernatural  being.  The 
manifold  dangers  were  increased  by  the  spirit  of  mutiny  among  the 
sailors.  These  poor  men  thought  themselves  lost  in  a  boundless 
sea  and  the  unknown  filled  them  with,  terror.  They  would  fain 
abandon  the  attempt  to  penetrate  further  the  mysterious  void  and 
longed  to  return.  Columbus  consoled  them,  reanimating  their  cour- 
age, describing  to  them  in  the  most  brilliant  colors  the  rich  lands 
they  were  going  to  conquer. 

By  the  first  of  October  they  were  766  leagues  from  the  Ca- 
naries and  their  goal,  the  coasts  of  India,  was  not  yet  in  sight. 
Despair  took  possession  of  the  admiral's  companions.  The  equa- 
torial calms  filled  them  w^ith  consternation,  but  the  faith  of  Colum- 
bus was  unshaken.  At  last,  about  ten  o'clock  on  the  night  of  Oc- 
tober II,  when  the  gloomy  and  angry  crews  were  muttering  threats 
of  casting  him  into  the  sea  for  a  madman  who  would  lead  them  to 
certain  death,  Columbus,  as  he  anxiously  scanned  the  empty  dark- 
ness, thought  he  saw  a  light  in  the  distance.     That  solitary  light 


6  SOUTHAIVI  ERICA 

1492 

from  the  fire  of  some  savage  was  the  lowly  pharos  which  announced 
the  presence  of  a  new  world ! 

At  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  12th  Rodrigo  de  Triana, 
a  seaman  of  the  Pinta,  which  sailed  ahead  of  the  little  fleet,  at 
last  saw  land.  A  cannon  shot,  the  agreed  signal,  resounded  over 
the  ocean  and  made  the  admiral  tremble.  They  furled  the  sails 
and  lay  to  to  await  the  dawn.  Daybreak  disclosed  in  the  midst 
of  the  sea  an  island  resplendent  with  verdure.  Men  and  women 
entirely  naked,  coming  from  the  woods  and  scattering  about  on  the 
shore,  expressed  by  their  gestures,  fear  and  wonder  at  the  sight  of 
the  ships  brought  to  their  shores  by  the  waves  during  the  night. 
Boats,  manned  by  armed  sailors,  advanced  toward  them  with  flags 
displayed,  strains  of  instrumental  music,  and  the  discharge  of  fire- 
arms. Columbus  was  the  first  to  set  foot  upon  the  shore.  Be- 
decked with  all  the  insignia  of  his  rank  as  admiral  and  viceroy  and 
displaying  his  rich  scarlet  cloak  he  advanced,  holding  the  royal 
standard  in  one  hand  and  his  sword  in  the  other,  knelt  down  and 
kissed  the  earth.  The  island  was  called  Guanahani,  but  he  named 
it  San  Salvador  and  took  possession  in  the  name  of  the  Crown  of 
Castile. 

It  was  one  of  the  Lucaya  or  Bahama  group  which  extends 
as  far  as  the  coast  of  Florida  and  is  situated  more  than  a  thousand 
leagues  west  of  Gomera,  whence  the  little  squadron  had  sailed. 
Columbus,  believing  it  to  be  an  outpost  of  the  Indies,  which  was 
always  his  goal,  called  the  people  Indians  and  this  erroneous  name 
has  perpetuated  the  memory  of  his  error.  This  also  is  the  derivation 
of  the  name  West  Indies,  which  was  for  a  long  time  used  for 
America.  These  Indians  had  no  weapons  save  lances  tipped  with 
bone  or  flint,  and  were  ignorant  of  the  use  of  clothing,  but  many 
wore  little  pieces  of  gold  for  ornaments  in  the  ears  and  nostrils. 
When  asked  by  signs  where  the  precious  metal  came  from  they 
pointed  to  the  south.  The  Spaniards  reembarked  confident  of 
finding  in  that  direction  the  fabulous  countries  of  Cathay  and 
Cipango,  where  the  royal  palaces  were  floored  with  sheets  of  gold. 
They  began  to  cross  the  dangerous  reefs  ("keys"),  which  have 
given  the  Bahama  group  its  name  of  Lucayan,  and  wandered  among 
the  channels  which  separate  innumerable  islands  varying  in  size, 
but  all  alike  in  luxuriant  vegetation. 

They  landed  on  three  of  them,  to  which  Columbus  gave  the 
names  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Concepcion,  Fernando,  and  Isabel, 


DISCOVERY     OF     AMERICA  7 

1492  ' 

never  suspecting  the  existence  of  the  great  new  continent  of  which 
they  were  the  splendid  outposts  in  the  sea.  Here  also  the  islanders 
indicated  that  they  got  their  gold  from  the  south.  Going  on  again 
in  this  direction  he  reached  the  Cuban  coast,  after  three  days'  sail- 
ing. "  It  is  the  most  beautiful  island,"  he  wrote  in  his  notes,  "  that 
human  eyes  have  ever  seen,  in  which  I  should  wish  to  live  forever 
and  in  which  I  cannot  conceive  there  is  either  pain  or  death."  Tlie 
land  was  cultivated  in  many  parts,  and  the  Spaniards  thought  that 
beyond  the  distant  mountains  which  they  saw  would  be  found 
civilization,  gold  mines  and  the  fabulous  wonders  of  Asia.  These 
thoughts  inflamed  their  imaginations  and  excited  the  cupidity  of  all. 

Alonso  Pinzon,  the  captain  of  the  Pinta,  which  was  the  best 
sailer  in  the  squadron,  left  it,  with  the  intention  of  being  the  first  to 
reach  the  island  of  Hayti,  where,  according  to  the  report  of  the 
natives  of  Cuba,  the  precious  metal  abounded.  Columbus  ignored 
the  act  as  if  it  had  been  unintentional,  and  making  sail  toward  the 
southeast  arrived  on  December  6  at  Hayti,  to  which  he  gave  the 
name  of  Hispaniola,  or  Spanish  Island.  He  missed  the  continent. 
The  constant  pressure  to  find  the  means  of  satisfying  the  greed  of 
his  companions  and  to  fulfill  the  hopes  of  those  who  had  assisted 
him  induced  him  to  put  about  when,  had  he  held  on  his  course,  he 
would  surely  have  reached  the  mainland.  "  The  American  archi- 
pelago," says  Lamartine,  "  in  baffling  him  and  leading  him  astray 
from  island  to  island,  seemed  to  turn  him  aside  wantonly  from  the 
goal  which,  unconsciously,  he  had  almost  reached.  The  phantom 
of  Asia  which  had  brought  him  to  the  American  coast  now  stood 
between  him  and  America  to  cheat  him  wnth  a  dream  in  lieu  of  the 
great  reality."  The  natives  of  Hayti  had  much  gold,  which  they 
received  from  their  neighbors,  and  which  they  gave  to  the  Spaniards 
in  exchange  for  glass  beads,  pins  and  other  objects  of  no  value. 
This  only  inflamed  the  avarice  of  the  Spaniards,  who  wished  to 
know  where  the  mines  were  situated.  The  natives  pointed  out  to 
them  a  mountainous  country  to  the  eastward.  Columbus  skirted  the 
coast  and  was  about  to  land  at  the  point  indicated,  when  the  Santa 
Maria  struck  a  reef  and  sprung  a  leak.  The  Spaniards,  with  the 
help  of  the  natives,  succeeded  in  saving  the  cargo. 

In  his  letters,  Columbus  is  evidently  affected  by  the  goodness 
and  generosity  of  these  people,  whose  cacique,  the  first  friend  of  the 
Europeans,  was  soon  to  become  their  first  victim.  "  There  is  no- 
where in  the  world,"  he  wrote,  "  a  better  people  or  a  better  country. 


8  SO UTHAM ERICA 

1492-1493 

They  love  their  neighbors  as  themselves;  their  speech  is  soft  and 
kindly  and  their  lips  wear  always  a  smile  of  gentleness.  They  are 
naked  to  be  sure,  but  sufficiently  clothed  with  modesty  and  frank- 
ness." Columbus  believed  that  he  had  at  last  found  the  source  of 
the  fabulous  riches  described  by  the  travelers  in  Asia.  He  wished 
to  return  without  delay  to  Spain  to  announce  his  success,  and  he 
feared  that  the  traitor  Pinzon  had  sailed  for  Europe  to  outstrip  him 
and  claim  the  glory  of  the  expedition.  He  thought  then  of  leaving 
part  of  his  people  in  Hayti.  Those  who  would  volunteer  to  await 
his  return  were  to  learn  the  language  of  the  natives,  study  their 
customs,  explore  the  country  and  endeavor  to  discover  the  mines 
and  serve  as  a  base  for  a  colony,  whose  existence  was  to  be  assured 
by  his  prompt  return.  Thirty-eight  men,  tempted  by  the  wealth  in 
which  the  island  seemed  to  abound,  voluntarily  offered  to  remain  in 
Hispaniola,  at  the  head  of  whom  he  placed  Diego  de  Aranda.  For 
their  better  security  a  little  fort  was  built,  a  deep  ditch  dug,  ram- 
parts erected  furnished  with  palisades  and  flanked  by  cannon  saved 
from  the  wreck  of  the  Santa  Maria.  The  work  was  finished  in  ten 
days,  thanks  to  the  zeal  with  which  the  poor  islanders  labored  to 
raise  this  first  monument  of  their  slavery. 

Columbus  left  on  January  4,  1493,  loaded  with  gifts  from 
the  cacique,  and  taking  with  him  several  Indians.  Coasting  along 
the  island  he  met  Pinzon,  who  had  explored  during  the  six  weeks 
of  his  absence  the  north  coast  of  Hayti.  They  put  to  sea  together, 
and  the  voyage  was  favorable  until  February  14,  when  a  violent 
tempest  parted  them  again. 

At  last,  on  March  15,  Columbus  reentered  the  port  of  Palos, 
whence  he  had  sailed  seven  months  and  eleven  days  before.  His 
journey  to  the  royal  court  at  Barcelona  was  a  veritable  triumph 
and  he  entered  the  town  in  great  state. 

"  America,"  says  Jean  Reynaud,  "  saved  Columbus,  though  he 
did  not  seek  it.  For,  but  for  it,  he  would  either  have  been  lost  in  the 
vast  extent  of  the  ocean  or  forced  to  return  in  disgrace.  Though 
thus  fortunate  for  him,  it  is  nevertheless  the  fact  that  the  finding  of 
the  New  World  gave  the  lie  to  his  system  and  cut  short  his  bold 
project.  He  had  overcome  all  obstacles  to  his  exploration  of  India, 
but  America  was  one  which  he  had  not  foreseen  and  could  never 
conquer.  Here  was  a  barrier  stretched  across  the  ocean  pathway 
between  the  two  extremes  of  the  Old  World  upon  wliich  a  ship  must 
run  aground.    Here,  we  may  say,  begins  the  true  life  of  Christopher 


DISCOVERY     OF     AMERICA  Q 

1493  ^ 

Columbus.  Hitherto  obscure,  and  rich  only  in  the  dreams  of  hope, 
it  was  suddenly  filled  with  glory  and  magnificence,  but  also  with 
reverses  and  misfortunes  of  every  kind.  The  viceroy  of  the  Indies, 
author  of  the  most  splendid  achievement  of  modern  times,  founder 
of  colonies  and  benefactor  of  Spain,  deserves  more  pity  than  the 
humble  traveler  at  the  convent  gate  asking  bread  for  his  sick  child." 
This  story  of  the  ingratitude  of  princes  has  been  often  told.  We 
will  here  set  down  only  so  much  as  cannot  be  separated  from  our 
narrative. 

On  September  25  Columbus  left  the  harbor  of  Cadiz  for 
his  second  voyage.  Three  great  ships  and  fourteen  caravels  made 
up  the  fleet  which  Spain  now  furnished  him.     He  took  with  him 


1500  persons,  gentlemen,  laborers,  priests,  adventurers  attracted 
by  the  unknown  and  the  marvelous,  urged  on  by  greed  or  religious 
zeal,  by  the  spirit  of  trade  or  the  love  of  glory.  He  discovered  many 
of  the  Antilles  on  the  way  and  gave  them  names  of  religious  sig- 
nificance— Dominica,  Mari-Galante,  Guadalupe,  Monserrat,  Santa 
Maria  la  Redonda,  Santa  Maria  la  Antigoa,  San  Martin,  Santa 
Cruz.  These  islands,  which  also  bore  the  name  Caribbean,  were 
all  inhabited  by  cannibals,  who,  in  their  raids,  went  as  far  as  the 
Bahamas.  After  having  discovered  the  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins 
and  Porto  Rico  the  fleet  reached  Hayti.  The  shore  was  deserted, 
the  fort  destroyed.  The  scattered  bones  of  the  Spaniards  were 
whitening  on  the  sand.     The  little  garrison  had  abused  the  hos- 


10  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1493-1495 

pitality  of  the  caciques  to  oppress  the  natives,  seizing  their  gold, 
carrying  off  their  daughters  and  their  wives.  The  victims  had 
attacked  their  oppressors,  who  were,  moreover,  divided  among 
themselves,  and  numbers  had  overcome  firearms.  It  was  the  first 
outbreak  of  hatred  between  the  two  races,  one  of  which  brought  to 
the  other  the  double  gifts  of  slavery  and  extermination.  Columbus 
departed  from  this  blood-stained  shore,  and  at  some  distance  built 
Isabella,  the  first  town  built  by  the  Spaniards  in  the  New  World,  and 
the  mother  of  so  many  other  colonies.  Later  it  received  the  name 
of  San  Domingo,  after  the  father  of  Columbus.  This  was  the  scene 
of  a  romantic  adventure.  On  board  the  ships  were  many  young 
Indian  girls  who  had  been  captured  in  the  neighboring  islands.  One 
of  them  fascinated  a  chief  who  visited  the  vessel  of  Columbus,  and 
a  plan  of  escape  was  made  between  them  by  signs.  The  very  night 
that  Columbus  sailed  the  prisoner  and  her  companions,  eluding  the 
watchfulness  of  their  ravishers^  threw  themselves  into  the  waves. 
They  were  pursued  by  boats,  but  swam  toward  the  shore,  where 
the  young  chief  had  lighted  a  fire  to  guide  them.  The  two  lovers 
whom  this  feat  of  strength  and  daring  had  united  fled  into  the  forest. 

On  August  5,  1494,  Columbus  sent  to  Spain  twelve  of  his  ships 
with  samples  of  gold  from  the  mines  of  Cibao.  He  had  found  it 
necessary  to  suppress  a  mutiny,  whose  ringleaders  he  had  put  to 
death.    Their  chief  accomplices  were  sent  to  Spain. 

While  Columbus  was  struggling  with  the  difiiculties  that  the 
founding  of  a  colony  in  a  wild  country  always  causes,  his  people, 
who  had  conceived  the  chimerical  hope  that  it  was  sufficient  to 
arrive  at  the  Indies  in  order  to  obtain  in  abundance  and  without 
fatigue  the  gold  which  they  coveted,  fell  into  the  deepest  dejection 
that  very  soon  was  turned  into  despair.  Discontent  became  general, 
the  spirit  of  insubordination  spread,  and  a  conspiracy  was  formed 
that  might  have  been  fatal  to  the  admiral  and  the  colony.  Colum- 
bus discovered  it,  and  repressed  it  with  energy. 

The  discontented  and  envious,  at  the  head  of  whom  were  Pedro 
Margarite  and  the  monk,  Boyle,  returned  to  Spain  on  ships  which 
they  had  seized  in  the  harbor.  Seconded  by  Fonseca,  Bishop  of 
Badajos,  they  accused  Columbus  of  ambition  and  cruelty.  By  an 
ordinance  of  April  10,  1495,  disregarding  his  contract  with  Colum- 
bus, the  King  authorized  any  subject  to  settle  in  Hispaniola  and  to 
undertake  voyages  of  discovery  and  commerce  in  the  New  World. 

During  this  time  Columbus  fortified  Isabella,  appointed  a  coun- 


DISCOVERY     OF     AMERICA  11 

1495-1498 

cil  to  carry  on  the  government,  explored  the  country,  aj^ain  put  to 
sea  and  discovered  Jamaica,  where,  for  the  first  time,  he  made  use  of 
dogs  against  the  natives,  a  cruel  measure  too  often  employed  later; 
visited  the  northern  coast  of  Cuha,  sailing  among  the  numerous 
islands,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  "  Queen's  Gardens."  in  token  of 
the  rich  and  spicy  vegetation.  The  Spaniards  at  Isahella  had  not 
only  broken  over  all  discipline,  but  had  exasperated  the  natives.  The 
rashness  and  treachery  of  the  young  and  hotheaded  Ojeda  drove 
many  of  the  chiefs  to  despair  and  to  revolt,  Columbus,  although 
they  had  not  been  in  the  wrong,  took  severe  measures  against  them. 
After  defeating  them  in  battle  he  laid  upon  them  a  heavy  tribute, 
especially  in  gold.  Many  prisoners  were  loaded  upon  four  vessels 
and  shipped  off  to  Spain  like  human  cattle  sacrificed  to  an  infamous 
traf^c.  The  war  then  degenerated  into  a  sort  of  man  hunt.  Dogs 
were  employed  for  this  purpose  in  the  woods,  and  they  tracked, 
mangled,  and  caught  by  the  throat  the  wretched  Indians,  aiding  the 
tyrants  greatly  in  their  work  of  slaughter. 

At  the  Spanish  court  the  enemies  of  Columbus  triumphed. 
Juan  Aguado,  an  ofificer  of  the  king's  household,  was  sent  to  ex- 
amine into  the  condition  of  the  colony,  and  Columbus  judged  it 
necessary  to  return  to  Spain  in  order  to  justify  himself  in  person. 
He  set  out  on  March  lo,  1496,  after  deputing  his  powers  to  his 
brother  Bartholomew,  and  arrived  at  Cadiz  on  June  11.  His  pres- 
ence excited  the  compassion  of  the  queen.  He  went  to  her  at 
Burgos  in  the  dress  of  a  Franciscan,  his  head  bowed  with  affliction 
and  cares,  and  barefoot,  as  a  suppliant  of  genius  going  to  ask  pardon 
for  his  glory,  as  Lamartine  puts  it.  The  queen  took  up  his  defense, 
but  two  years  were  wasted  in  struggle  against  every  kind  of 
intrigue,  before  Columbus  could  return  to  the  work  of  discovery. 

On  May  30,  1498,  Columbus  set  out  from  the  port  of 
San  Lucas  de  Barraneda  with  six  ships  on  his  third  voyage,  on 
which  he  finally  reached  the  continent.  Running  south  to  the 
equator,  he  then  steered  directly  west  in  the  hope  of  finding  a  mild 
temperature.  He  suffered  severely  from  headache  and  made  a  vow 
to  give  the  name  of  the  Trinity  to  the  first  land  he  should  see.  The 
vow  had  hardly  been  made  when  they  sighted  the  shores  of  Trinidad 
(July  31).  Coasting  the  island  in  search  of  a  place  to  anchor,  he 
discovered  to  the  south  a  low  land  that  stretched  farther  than  the 
eye  could  see,  and  far  along  the  coast  the  mouth  of  a  great  river, 
whose  impetuous  flood  penetrated  for  three  leagues  into  the  ocean 


12  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1498 

without  mixing  with  its  waters.  He  rightly  conjectured  that  so 
large  a  river  must  traverse  a  vast  continent.  Nor  was  he  deceived; 
the  Orinoco  with  its  fifty  mouths,  its  numerous  affluents  and  its 
course  of  1500  miles,  waters  an  immense  country;  its  floods  are 
terrible  and  in  its  overflowings  it  extends  60  miles  from  its  banks. 
That  low  land,  from  the  center  of  which  he  saw  the  river  fall  into 
the  ocean,  was  the  coast  of  Colombia,  the  continent  of  the  New 
World.  But  he  did  not  suspect  that  it  was  a  new  world.  Always 
blinded  by  his  dream  of  reaching  the  Indies,  he  believed  it  to  be  the 
prolongation  of  the  east  coast  of  Asia;  and  the  great  quantity  of 
gold  and  the  large  number  of  most  beautiful  pearls  that  he  obtained 
from  the  natives  of  the  coast  at  the  different  points  where  he  landed, 
the  beauty  and  fertility  of  the  country,  the  riches  of  its  vegetable 
productions,  the  variety  of  birds,  all  confirmed  him  in  this  opinion. 
He  believed  that  he  had  discovered  the  Terrestrial  Paradise,  and  in 
his  account  of  the  voyage  there  is  a  long  digression  attempting  to 
demonstrate  that  the  Orinoco  is  the  famous  river  that  rises  in  Eden. 
Full  of  enthusiasm,  he  explored  the  coast  for  some  twenty  leagues 
to  the  westward,  as  far  as  the  place  where  the  city  of  Caracas  was 
afterwards  built.  He  left  this  enchanted  country  with  regret,  not 
without  a  promise  to  return  and  complete  his  important  discoveries 
when  he  should  have  regained  his  health  and  revictualed  his 
squadron.  On  his  voyage  to  Hispaniola,  where  he  arrived  on 
August  30,  he  discovered  the  islands  of  Cubagua  and  Margarita, 
which  afterwards  became  celebrated  for  their  pearl  fisheries. 

He  found  the  colony  torn  by  anarchy.  The  colonists  were  di- 
vided into  many  factions,  which  frequently  came  to  blows.  Ojeda 
had  chartered  some  ships  on  his  own  account  in  Spain,  had  gone  on 
a  cruise  to  make  a  descent  on  the  southern  coast  of  the  island,  and 
was  in  league  with  Roldan.  Then  Roldan  had  betrayed  Ojeda,  and 
once  more  submitted  to  the  authority  of  Bartholomew  Columbus, 
whose  strong  hand  could  hardly  hold  the  mastery  of  the  situation. 
The  island  had  become  a  prison  and  a  slaughter  house  for  the 
wretched  natives,  who  were  treated  with  treachery,  cruelty  and 
frightful  oppression,  in  which  religious  fanaticism  sometimes  sur- 
passed greed.  While  Columbus  was  endeavoring  to  pacify  the 
colony,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  informed  of  the  miseries  of  the 
island,  imputed  them  to  him,  and  sent  out  Francisco  de  Bobadilla, 
who  had  Columbus  arrested,  confiscated  his  property,  and  sent  him 
in  chains  to  Spain. 


DISCOVERY     OF     AM  Ell  I  (A  13 

1498-1504 

When  the  sovereigns  knew  that  the  a(hninil  was  broiij^ht  back  a 
prisoner  they  were  ashamed  and  public  opinion  was  aroused  at  see- 
ing the  man  to  whom  Spain  owed  a  whole  world  arrive  loaded  with 
chains.  Bobadilla,  recalled  in  disgrace,  was  kjst  at  sea  after  leaving 
Hayti,  but  Columbus  did  not  recover  his  viceroyalty  and  could 
hardly  get  permission  to  make  a  fourth  voyage. 

He  sailed  in  1502,  and  added  to  his  numerous  discoveries 
Martinique,  the  harbor  of  Porto  Bello  and  the  coasts  of  Costa  Rica 
and  Honduras.  Repelled  from  Hayti  by  his  old  companions,  he  had 
to  contend  with  famine  and  sickness,  and  was  saved  only  by  the 
provisions  that  he  obtained  from  the  natives  by  predicting  an  eclipse. 
He  returned  to  Spain  in  1504,  discouraged,  broken  by  hardships 
and  by  age.  Isabella  had  passed  away.  Ferdinand  left  him  to  die 
in  Seville  in  poverty  and  disappointment.  But  he  was  at  least  spared 
the  bitterness  of  living  long  enough  to  hear  the  new  w^orld  which  he 
had  discovered  called  by  the  name  of  Amerigo  Vespucci,  a  pilot 
who  had  accompanied  him  on  one  of  his  voyages. 

It  has  been  asked,  and  justly,  whether  Columbus  did  not  allow 
himself  to  be  misled  too  easily  by  the  success  of  his  first  voyage, 
and  whether  he  did  all  that  the  service  of  geographical  science  re- 
quired in  exploring  these  new  lands.  "  Perhaps,"  writes  Reynaud, 
"  we  shall  have  to  accuse  him  for  his  constant  eagerness  to  obtain 
gold,  his  lack  of  political  ability,  his  injustice  tov/ard  the  unoffend- 
ing natives  of  America,  his  lack  of  humanity  and  of  genius  if  we 
must  speak  plainly.  We  must  clearly  distinguish  his  two  functions, 
the  bold  explorer  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  founder  of  the  first  Spanish 
colonies  in  the  New  World.  Columbus,  despite  the  most  hallowed 
principles  of  the  law  of  nations,  enslaved  the  unfortunate  islanders 
who  had  welcomed  him  wnth  open  arms  and  thereby  gave  the  signal 
for  that  work  of  crime  and  destruction  which  for  so  long  a  time 
stained  the  soil  of  America  with  blood  and  dishonored  the  annals 
of  Christianity.  He  paid  the  inevitable  price  for  glory  to  the  spirit 
of  his  age  by  sharing  the  atrocious  political  morality  with  which  that 
age  was  stained.  The  Spaniards  in  pillaging,  enslaving  and  mas- 
sacring at  will  in  America  were  only  exercising  their  rights  under 
the  law  of  nations  sanctioned  by  the  church,  and  enjoying  the  fruits 
of  the  famous  bull  of  Pope  Alexander  Borgia,  which  gave  over  to 
Portugal  the  pagans  of  Africa  and  the  East,  and  to  Spain  those  of 
the  West." 


Chapter   II 

CONQUEST.     1493-1713 

THE  Bull  granted  in  1493  by  Alexander  VI.  was  explicit. 
"  Of  his  own  mere  motion  and  certain  knowledge  and  by- 
virtue  of  his  full  apostolic  powers,"  the  Pope  conceded 
to  the  Catholic  sovereigns,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  the  right  of 
conquest,  annexation  and  government  of  the  western  Indies. 
"  Whoever  opposes  it  ought  to  be  considered  as  having  incurred  the 
anger  of  Almighty  God  and  of  the  blessed  apostles  Peter  and  Paul." 
Neither  Spaniards  nor  Portuguese,  to  be  sure,  gave  to  this  famous 
demarcation  the  respect  which  was  its  due.  Carried  away  by  the 
lust  of  conquest,  they  broke  through  the  barrier  more  than  once. 
As  for  the  former,  strong  in  the  plenary  powers  of  the  vicar  of 
God  on  earth,  they  thought  they  had  not  only  a  right  of  con- 
quest, but  a  right  of  property  to  dispose  of  America  at  their 
will.  Hardly  had  it  been  discovered  when  they  drenched  it  in 
blood.  The  grasping  Spaniards  fell  upon  their  prey  with  savage 
eagerness.  Two  abominable  acts  mark  that  merciless  work,  that 
twofold  crime  which  is  known  as  the  conquest  and  colonization 
of  the  New  World :  the  destruction  of  the  aboriginal  race  and  the 
establishment  of  negro  slavery  upon  that  generous  soil,  so  well 
fitted  for  liberty. 

It  has  already  been  noted  that  the  Spanish  court,  in  violation  of 
its  contract  with  Columbus,  had  in  1495  granted  to  all  its  subjects  the 
liberty  to  fit  out  vessels  and  go  to  seek  fortunes  in  the  land  of  gold. 
It  calculated  upon  increasing  its  possessions  without  loosening  its 
purse  strings,  and  even  on  enriching  itself  at  the  same  time  by  the 
stipulated  share  in  the  profits  of  the  expeditions  which  was  expressly 
reserved  for  the  government.  The  subjects  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella  let  several  years  elapse  before  exercising  these  powers.  It 
was  only  in  the  last  year  of  the  century  that  they  changed  their 
minds.  They  were  seized  by  the  spirit  of  emulation  when  the 
Portuguese  Vasco  da  Gama,  by  doubling  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
opened  a  sea  route  to  the  East  Indies.     All  now  longed  eagerly  to 

14 


CONQUEST  15 

1497-1500 

throw  themselves  into  that  pursuit  which  they  had  before  called 
visionary.  In  the  meantime  England  had  made  an  attempt  on  the 
lines  laid  down  by  Columbus.  In  1497  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot, 
father  and  son,  first  saw  the  northern  continent.  They  had  been 
sent  by  Henry  VII.  with  a  small  squadron  and  had  discovered  New- 
foundland, skirted  Labrador  and  in  returning  coasted  as  far  south 
as  Florida. 

Alonso  de  Ojeda,  who  accompanied  Columbus  in  his  second 
voyage,  led  the  way.  He  was  bold  to  the  point  of  rashness  and  had 
been  page  to  Isabella.  One  day  when  the  queen  had  climbed  to  the 
top  of  the  Giralda  tower  in  Seville  to  wonder  at  its  great  height,  he 
threw  himself  upon  a  narrow  beam  which  projected  from  the  bat- 
tlements, and  whirling  there  upon  one  foot  performed  feats  of 
strength  and  skill  to  please  his  sovereign.  Assisted  by  wealthy 
speculators,  he  now  equipped  four  ships  and  set  sail  in  May,  1499, 
accompanied  by  Amerigo  Vespucci.  His  landfall  was  at  Maraca- 
pana,  two  hundred  leagues  east  of  the  Orinoco,  and  coasting  that 
part  of  the  southern  continent  which  was  at  first  called  Terra 
Firma,  he  reached  Cape  Vela.  A  few  months  before  Alonso 
Niiio  and  Cristobal  Guerra  had  touched  at  the  same  place  on  a 
purely  mercantile  expedition.  The  brothers  Pinzon,  who  had  fol- 
lowed Columbus  in  his  first  voyage,  left  Palos  in  December,  1499, 
with  four  caravels.  They  made  the  land  at  Cape  St.  Augustine, 
the  extremity  of  Brazil,  discovered  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon, 
and  explored  six  hundred  leagues  of  coast  before  reaching  Hayti. 
A  few  months  later  Diego  Lepe  and  Alonso  Velez  de  Mendoza 
followed  them,  doubled  Cape  St.  Augustine,  saw  that  the  coast 
extended  much  farther  toward  the  southwest,  and  made  the  first 
maps  of  those  regions.  The  Portuguese  Pedro  Alvarez  Cabral, 
borne  far  to  the  west  by  the  ocean  currents  on  his  voyage  to 
India,  came  upon  the  Brazilian  coast  in  the  same  year;  anchor- 
ing on  April  24  in  a  harbor  called  by  the  Portuguese  Seguro,  he 
set  up  on  May  i,  after  the  mass  had  been  celebrated,  a  cross  of  wood 
bearing  the  arms  of  Portugal  as  a  symbol  of  its  sovereignty  over 
the  country,  which  was  at  first  called  Vera  Cruz,  and  some  years 
later  Brazil.  To  Cabral  belongs  the  honor  of  the  discovery  of  Brazil, 
for  his  predecessors  had  sown  no  seed  of  colonization  and  had  ex- 
cited the  enmity  of  the  natives  they  fell  in  with.  No  one  contested 
the  honor,  and  Europe  conceded  the  rights  of  the  Portuguese  crown 
over  the  new  country.     It  is  evident  that  even  if  Columbus  had  not 


16  SO  UTHAM  ERICA 

1500-1513 

succeeded,  Cabral,  thanks  to  the  ocean  currents  which  carried  him 
out  of  his  course,  would  have  discovered  America.  Such  is  the 
basis  of  fame.  Fame !  Columbus  himself  was  the  most  notable  vic- 
tim of  her  caprice,  for  did  she  not  give  the  name  of  one  of  his  sub- 
ordinates to  America?  Amerigo  Vespucci,  who  wrote  the  first 
narrative  of  travel  in  the  newly  discovered  regions,  was  in  truth 
a  man  of  worth,  a  good  seaman  and  a  distinguished  geographer, 
but  in  this  matter  fortune  served  him  far  too  well. 

Rodrigo  de  Bastidas  and  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  completing  the  in- 
vestigations of  Ojeda,  doubled  Cape  Vela  in  1501  and  explored  100 
leagues  of  unknown  coasts,  which,  some  years  later,  were  to  acquire 
sufficient  notoriety  from  the  misfortunes  that  Nicuesa  and  Ojeda 
himself  suffered  on  them,  and  where,  shortly  after,  Santa  Alarta, 
Cartagena  and  Xombre  de  Dies,  on  the  Gulf  of  Darien,  were 
founded.  Portuguese  enterprise  continued  active.  As  early  as  1 500 
Caspar  Cortereal  was  dispatched  to  Greenland,  Labrador  and  New- 
foundland. But  in  a  second  voyage  he  was  lost  with  his  brother, 
who  accompanied  him. 

Nicolas  Ovando,  who  had  succeeded  Bobadilla  in  the  govern- 
ment of  San  Domingo,  subjected,  in  1505,  almost  the  whole  island 
of  Hayti.  The  barbarous  measures  which  he  employed  against  the 
natives  made  him  infamous  in  history;  he  massacred  the  wretched 
people  without  mercy,  insomuch  that  not  enough  were  left  to  work 
the  mines,  whereupon  the  Bahamas  were  depopulated  by  his  slave- 
catchers. 

The  coasts  of  Terra  Firma,  Honduras  and  the  eastern  part  of 
Yucatan  were  traced  by  Juan  Diaz  de  Solis  and  Yaiiez  Pinzon  in  the 
following  year.  In  15 12  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon  occupied  Porto  Rico, 
which  had  been  granted  to  him  as  governor,  and  founded  a  colony 
in  Florida.  Yet  a  quarter  of  a  century  elapsed  before  the  Spaniards 
actually  took  possession  of  Florida  and  of  a  great  part  of  Louisiana. 

The  following  year  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  an  adventurer  who 
had  become  the  head  of  a  little  colony  at  Darien,  climbed  the  moun- 
tains which  stretch  along  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  searching  for  lands 
rich  in  gold  and  discovered  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Advancing  fully 
armed  into  the  waves  to  the  depth  of  his  knees,  he  had  drawn  his 
sword  and  taken  possession  of  the  South  Sea  in  the  name  of  his 
sovereign.  On  this  expedition  he  had  heard  of  Peru,  a  land  of 
promise  which  kindled  the  imagination  of  all  who  heard  of  it,  and 
he  gave  an  enthusiastic  account  of  it.    An  expedition  was  planned 


CONQUEST  17 

1513-1516 

and  he  had  by  intrigue  secured  the  command  of  it,  wlicn  he  was 
accused  of  imaginary  crimes  and  sent  to  the  scaffold  by  I'edro  Arias 
de  Avila,  whom  Ferdinand  had  made  governor  in  his  stead,  and  wlio 
coveted  the  advantages  arising  from  Balboa's  discoveries.  'J1iis 
Avila  found  the  country  afterward  known  successively  as  Terra 
Firma  of  the  West,  New  Granada  and  the  United  States  of  Colom- 
bia. He  was  followed  by  a  crowd  of  adventurers,  none  of  whom 
penetrated  far  into  the  country.  About  the  same  time  Diaz  de  Soils 
explored  the  bay  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  was  the  first  man  to  enter  the 
Rio  de  la  Plata,  and  on  the  shore  at  Maldorado  fell  into  the  hands 
of  Indian  cannibals,  who  devoured  him  and  his  companions  (1516). 
Four  years  later  Magellan  discovered  Patagonia  and  entered  the 
Pacific  through  the  strait  which  bears  his  name. 

Up  to  this  time  the  explorers  only  ventured  along  the  coasts  and 
kept  within  reach  of  their  ships.  From  this  moment  a  new  race,  that 
of  the  conquerors,  throw^s  itself  upon  its  helpless  prey.  These  bold 
robbers,  employing  sometimes  force  of  arms,  sometimes  cunning  and 
treachery,  go  forth  annihilating  the  warlike  nations  and  pillaging 
and  enslaving  the  pacific  tribes.  Hernando  Cortez,  the  most  cele- 
brated among  them,  a  pupil  in  the  school  of  Ovando,  the  terrible 
governor  of  San  Domingo,  had  aided  Velazquez  to  subdue  the 
Island  of  Cuba.  Commissioned  to  conquer  Mexico,  which  Grijalva 
had  just  discovered  and  had  not  dared  to  attack,  he  set  out  in'  15 18 
with  between  600  and  700  Spaniards,  eighteen  horses  and  four- 
teen cannon  of  small  caliber.  In  less  than  three  years  he  subjugated 
the  powerful  empire  of  Montezuma.  He  was  rewarded  by  Charles 
v.,  as  Columbus  had  been  by  Ferdinand,  and  the  civil  administra- 
tion of  the  conquered  country  w'as  taken  from  him.  When  he 
returned  to  Spain  he  had  added  to  his  conquest  the  discovery  of 
California  and  of  the  Vermilion  Sea.  He  died  there  of  disappoint- 
ment. One  day  when  he  thrust  himself  through  a  crowed  to  get 
near  the  person  of  the  king  the  latter  asked  who  he  was.  "  I  am 
he,"  Cortez  haughtily  replied,  "  who  has  given  you  more  provinces 
than  you  inherited  cities  from  your  ancestors." 

The  two  great  peninsulas  w^hich  form  the  American  continents 
w^ere  now  known.  The  task  of  seizing  their  unequaled  riches  alone 
remained.  From  year  to  year  all  the  European  nations  joined  more 
and  more  in  the  plunder  and  monopolization  of  this  vast  territory, 
almost  a  third  of  the  habitable  globe.  But  this  study  is  limited  as 
its  title  indicates ;  of  the  conquests  of  the  Old  over  the  New  World, 


18  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1516-1531 

we  are  concerned  only  with  those  which  relate  to  South  America 
properly  so  called.  Its  three  immense  plains,  which  are  watered 
by  the  Amazon,  the  La  Plata  and  the  Orinoco,  have  been  the  theater 
of  renowned  deeds  worthy  of  an  epic. 

Mexico  and  Peru  were  the  jewels  of  North  and  South  America, 
respectively,  but  there  was  another  people  whose  civilization  was 
comparable  with  that  of  the  early  Egyptians,  and  who  held  a  terri- 
tory of  more  than  six  hundred  square  leagues,  with  its  political  center 
on  the  plateau  of  Bogota.  We  refer  to  the  Chibchas,  whose  destruc- 
tion was  so  sudden  and  complete  that  after  a  few  years  it  was  hardly 
possible  to  trace  even  the  traditions  of  the  country.  Their  very 
name  almost  disappeared,  for  the  conquerors,  perpetuating  an  error 
of  their  earliest  days  in  the  land,  called  them  Muyscas  or  Mozcas, 
a  word  which  in  the  Chibcha  tongue  means  individuals  or  persons. 
It  was  on  these  three  powerful  nations,  rivals  in  civilization,  that 
the  first  invaders  threw  themselves,  passing  by  the  swampy  plains 
and  impenetrable  forests,  which  did  not  seem  to  hide  the  gold 
which  they  greedily  sought. 

While  Hernando  Cortez  was  triumphing  in  Mexico,  Francisco 
Pizarro  was  preparing  for  the  conquest  of  Peru  with  Diego  de 
Almagro  and  Fernando  de  Luque.  Pizarro  had  been  a  swineherd 
in  his  youth  and  could  not  read  or  write.  Almagro  was  a  foundling, 
who  had  taken  the  name  of  his  native  place,  and  Luque,  a  Dominican 
monk,  was  a  schoolmaster  at  Panama.  These  three  bold  associates 
had  lost  no  time  in  coming  to  America  to  seek  their  fortunes, 
and  had  combined  their  small  means  and  vast  ambition.  Firmly 
united  in  adversity,  good  fortune  was  to  divide  them  later,  but 
while  waiting  for  it  they  loved  each  other  like  brothers.  From 
1524  to  1527  they  made  expeditions  into  the  hitherto  unexplored 
regions  to  the  south  of  Panama.  After  several  unsuccessful  attempts 
they  got  help  from  the  Spanish  government,  Pizarro  having  gone 
to  court  to  ask  it.  Three  ships  were  fitted  out.  The  invasion  was 
preceded  by  religious  ceremonies;  they  sought  the  blessing  of 
heaven  upon  the  work  of  extermination  to  which  they  were  about  to 
set  their  hands.  The  flags  were  blessed ;  officers  and  soldiers  to  the 
number  of  one  hundred  and  eighty,  one  hundred  and  forty-four 
foot  and  thirty-six  horse,  attended  mass  and  received  the  commun- 
ion. Four  priests,  Fernando  de  Luque,  Vincent  de  Valverde, 
Pedraza  and  Otiaz,  accompanied  the  "  army  "  by  the  express  com- 
mand of  Charles  V.     Such  was  the  detachment  which  set  out  to 


CONQUEST  iQ 

1531-1532  ^ 

overthrow  an  empire.  That  empire  measured  2500  miles  in  lenj^th 
and  from  375  to  500  in  brea(Uh,  l)eiiin:  bounded  on  the  north  hy 
the  Blue  River,  whose  bed  is  almost  under  the  C(|uator,  and  on  the 
south  by  the  river  Maouly.  In  this  territory  arc  the  present  dav 
republics  of  Ecuador,  Peru,  Bolivia,  and  Chili.  Cuzco,  the  center 
of  the  territory,  was  its  capital.  Other  important  places  were  the 
tablelands  of  Quito  and  Lake  Titicaca. 

The  expedition  set  sail  in  February,  1531,  and  occupied  the 
island  of  Puna,  whence  the  invasion  of  Peru  itself  could  easily  be 
accomplished.  At  the  moment  the  country  was  g-iven  over  to  civil 
war.  Two  brothers,  Huascar  and  Atahualpa,  sons  of  the  last  inca, 
were  fighting  for  the  succession  and  for  this  reason  alone  did  nothing 
to  stop  the  strangers. 

Fame  was  not  slow  to  exaggerate  the  power  of  the  Spaniards. 
The  Peruvians  were  astonished  by  the  arrival  of  these  bearded  men, 
armed  with  the  thunder  and  riding  upon  beasts  of  terrible  aspect. 
They  took  the  newcomers  for  beings  of  a  superior  kind.  On  the 
march  Pizarro  received  the  envoys  of  Huascar,  who  asked  his  pro- 
tection. Leaving  behind  him  a  little  garrison  to  secure  his  retreat  in 
case  of  need,  Pizarro  continued  his  march  with  sixty-two  horsemen 
and  one  hundred  and  two  foot.  In  the  meantime  Fluascar  had  been 
defeated  by  Atahualpa,  who  sent  two  envoys  with  rich  gifts  to  meet 
the  Spaniards.  Atahualpa,  moreover,  consented  to  meet  Pizarro 
at  Caxamarca,  where  he  was  encamped.  On  the  day  set  for  the 
interview  (November  16,  1532)  the  inca  unsuspectingly  approached 
the  Spanish  quarters  borne  on  a  litter  of  massive  gold,  when  the 
priest,  Valverde,  advancing  with  a  crucifix  in  his  hand  to  meet  him, 
declared  that  as  the  Pope  had  granted  Peru  to  Spain,  he  ought  to 
acknowledge  himself  the  vassal  of  Charles  V.  and  become  a  Chris- 
tian. Atahualpa  seemed  not  to  understand  this  harangue.  Pizarro, 
who  had  drawn  up  his  soldiers  in  order  of  battle  along  a  wall, 
ordered  a  volley  to  be  fired  at  the  Peruvians,  and  taking  advantage 
of  the  wild  panic  into  which  they  were  thrown  by  the  noise  of  the 
firearms,  rushed  upon  them,  slew  the  bodyguard  of  the  emperor  and 
seized  his  person.  This  base  crime  which  history  ought  to  brand 
with  infamy  had  its  sequel  some  time  later.  Under  the  false  pretext 
that  Atahualpa  had  given  orders  for  exterminating  the  Spaniards 
he  was  condemned  to  death.  He  demanded  to  be  taken  to  Spain  and 
presented  to  the  monarch  whose  suzerainty  he  had  acknowledged. 
They  promised  him  life  and  liberty  if  he  would  receive  baptism  and 


20  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1532-1533 

fill  with  gold  as  high  as  a  man  could  reach  a  room  twenty-two  feet 
long  and  sixteen  wide.  When  he  had  fulfilled  these  conditions  he 
was  bound  to  a  stake  and  strangled.  This  act  of  brigandage  made 
the  conquest  of  the  country  certain  by  increasing  the  prevailing  con- 
fusion and  anarchy. 

Pizarro  was  made  captain-general  of  Peru;  Luque,  Bishop  of 
Cuzco,  and  Almagro,  governor-general  or  adelantado  of  the  200 
leagues  of  countiy  from  the  boundary  of  Peru  southward.  Thus 
was  Peru  conquered.  In  less  than  a  year  all  the  region  between 
Quito  and  Cuzco  was  subdued.  On  November  13,  1532,  the  Span- 
iards entered  Cuzco,  and  it  is  still  a  day  of  mourning  for  the  natives. 
Every  year  on  that  day  one  who  crosses  the  cathedral  square 
may  see  superstitious  Indians  kneeling  in  the  dust,  listening  with 
ear  pressed  upon  the  gTound  for  the  murmuring  of  the  tradi- 
tional lake  of  destiny  under  the  cathedral.  Among  the  treasures 
without  number  which  the  conquerors  expected  to  seize  in  the 
pillage  of  the  capital  was  the  golden  chain  which  Huana-Capac 
had  caused  to  be  made  on  the  occasion  of  the  first  cutting  of  the  hair 
of  her  son  Huascar.  It  w'as  of  the  same  size  as  an  ordinary  iron 
chain,  weighed  many  thousands  of  pounds,  was  half  a  mile  long  and 
was  used  to  enclose  the  great  square  at  Cuzco  at  the  time  of  the 
great  equinoctial  festivals  of  Raymi  and  Cittua.  To  save  this 
gigantic  piece  of  jewelry  the  people  confided  it  to  the  deep  waters  of 
the  Lake  of  Urcos.  Forty  Spaniards  and  two  hundred  Indians 
worked  for  three  months  searching  the  waters  of  the  lake  and 
finally  draining  it,  but  the  golden  chain  of  Cuzco  could  not  be  found. 

The  Peruvians,  in  fact,  exasperated  by  the  barbarous  treatment 
of  their  conquerors,  and  feeling  themselves  powerless  to  recover  their 
liberty,  wished  to  keep  their  immense  treasures  from  the  rapacity 
of  their  executioners,  and  concealed  them  so  successfully  that  they 
never  could  be  found.  The  search  for  them  continued  and  still 
continues,  but  time  has  kept  the  secret  inviolate.  In  the  outskirts 
of  the  little  village  of  Endajes  there  is  a  deep  and  narrow  con- 
duit where  treasures  without  number  were  buried.  Some  years 
ago  a  Spaniard  named  Vidagura  wished,  as  so  many  others  had, 
to  explore  the  subterranean  passage.  He  .followed  it  to  the  end, 
which  was  very  narrow.  As  he  was  sounding  the  wall  a  stone 
fell  from  the  roof  and  closed  the  opening.  The  poor  man  was  caught 
like  a  mouse  in  a  trap. 

But  it  was  not  their  gfold  alone  that  the  Peruvians  snatched 


TJIE   IXCA   ATAHr\I.P\    1=5   C  VRROTTFD   AT   THE    ?T\KE   AFTER   REfEIVING   ABSO- 
LUTION"   PROM    FATHER    VALVERDE 


Painting   ?>>■    A.    Chappel 


C  O  N  Q  IT  K  S  T  21 

1533-1537 

from  the  soldiers  of  Pizarro.  With  tlie  ra^c  produced  by  despair, 
in  order  that  tlieir  implacable  enemies  should  not  enjoy  the  sump- 
tuous palaces,  and  the  magnificent  temples  erected  by  tlieir  ancestors, 
they  destroyed  the  grand  monuments  of  their  ancient  civilization,  a 
work  in  which  they  were  stupidly  seconded  by  the  Si)aniards.  Two 
tine  roads  ran  from  Cuzco  to  Quito,  a  distance  of  not  less  than 
1650  miles.  They  were  paved,  enclosed  by  high  walls,  crossing  the 
deep  valleys  among  the  mountains  by  causeways  and  not  diverging 
even  to  avoid  the  lakes.    They  disap])eared  with  the  rest. 

Quito,  which  the  Spaniards  took  in  1533,  was  given  over  to  the 
torch  and  the  sword,  and  the  entire  male  population  was  extermi- 
nated, insomuch  that  one  of  the  brutal  lieutenants  of  Pizarro,  who 
wished  to  make  an  expedition  into  the  provinces  of  the  interior, 
could  get  only  women  and  children  in  answer  to  his  summons  for 
men  to  carry  the  baggage  and  cut  a  road  through  the  forest.  Sus- 
pecting a  trick,  he  became  enraged  and  had  the  whole  herd  of  human 
beings  slaughtered  then  and  there.  Possibly  this  was  Benalcazar, 
to  whom  Pizarro  delegated  the  government  of  Quito. 

This  Benalcazar  occupied  Pasto  and  Popayan,  where  he  founded 
Guayaquil,  penetrated  the  valley  of  Cauca  and  that  of  Bogota,  and 
pushed  on  as  far  as  the  Caribbean  Sea,  having  thus  traversed  the 
whole  of  New  Granada.  Pie  arrived  just  when  the  country  of 
Cundinamarca  was  being  subdued  by  Quesada. 

Gonzales  Ximenes  de  Quesada  had  succeeded  where  Alfinger 
and  his  companions,  who  had  set  out  from  Coro  in  Venezuela  seven 
years  before,  had  failed.  Alfinger  had  been  unable  to  cross  the  Cor- 
dillera, and  after  suffering  all  the  horrors  of  illness,  cold  and  famine, 
was  retracing  his  steps,  having  given  to  his  companions  for  food  the 
last  Indians  of  his  train,  when  he  was  slain  in  a  fight.  Quesada  left 
Santa  Marta  in  1537,  after  organizing  two  expeditions  to  work  in 
concert.  One  was  to  ascend  the  Magdalena,  the  other  to  follow  the 
overland  road.  Forced  to  send  his  boats  back  to  the  coast  with  the 
sick,  he  had  entered  the  Cordillera  and  had  pushed  steadily  toward 
the  south,  crossing  the  present  states  of  Santander  and  Boyaca.  The 
chroniclers  give  full  details  of  the  sufiferings  and  hardships  en- 
dured by  the  Spaniards  in  this  campaign.  Forced  to  live  for  several 
weeks  on  herbs,  plants  and  insects,  they  at  last  ate  the  leather  of 
their  belts  and  armor. 

To  return  to  Peru,  while  Pizarro  was  founding  Lima,  Almagro 
pushed  into  Chili,  which  had  fallen  to  him  in  the  division  of  the 


22  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1537 

spoils.  He  set  out  with  five  hundred  and  seventy  Spaniards  and 
five  hundred  Indians,  furnished  by  Manco-Capac,  second  jof  the 
name  and  brother  and  successor  of  Atahualpa.  The  inca  had  or- 
dered his  brother,  Paiello  Topa,  and  the  high  priest,  Velehoma, 
to  go  in  advance  and  prepare  the  way.  They  handed  over  to  him 
en  route  90,000  pesos  of  fine  gold  (about  $450,000),  which  the 
tributary  nations  of  Chili  had  sent  to  the  inca.  Some  days  there- 
after the  high  priest  and  one  of  the  interpreters,  weary  of  insults, 
took  flight.    The  latter  was  recaptured  and  quartered. 

Almagro  took  the  shortest  route,  by  the  Snow  Mountains. 
His  lieutenant,  Saavedra,  preceded  him,  with  orders  to  halt  when 
he  had  marched  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  from  Cuzco.  The 
place  where  Saavedra  established  himself  is  now  the  village  of 
Paria  in  Bolivia.  Many  of  the  soldiers  of  the  adelantado  died  of 
hunger  or  exhaustion ;  others  were  slain  by  the  arrows  of  the  natives 
who  constantly  harassed  the  expedition.  A  hundred  and  fifty 
Spaniards  and  ten  thousand  Peruvians  had  succumbed  or  disap- 
peared before  the  plains  of  Copiapo  were  reached.  Almagro  took 
possession  of  the  territory  by  issuing  the  formal  proclamation,  which 
the  Pope  had  caused  to  be  drawn  up  by  a  special  commission  of 
theologians  and  jurists,  and  which  Ojeda  had  been  the  first  to 
employ  in  1 509.  Armed  from  head  to  foot  and  bearing  the  insignia 
of  his  rank,  surrounded  by  his  officers  and  some  chiefs  who  had 
come  to  do  homage,  thanks  to  the  interposition  of  the  Peruvian 
ruler,  he  drew  his  sword,  seized  a  handful  of  the  soil  and  addressed 
the  natives  as  follows: 

"  I,  Diego  de  Almagro,  the  servant  of  the  most  high  and  mighty 
emperor,  Charles  the  Fifth,  king  of  Castile  and  Leon,  his  ambas- 
sador and  captain,  notify  and  give  you  to  know,  as  best  I  am  able, 
that  God  our  Lord,  one  and  everlasting,  created  the  heaven  and 
the  earth,  and  one  man  and  one  woman  of  whom  you  and  we  and 
all  men  in  the  world  were  and  are  descendants  born,  and  all  those 
who  shall  come  after  us." 

The  adelantado  explained  that  the  successive  generations  of 
men  for  more  than  five  thousand  years  had  been  scattered  in  the 
different  parts  of  the  world  and  were  divided  into  many  kingdoms, 
since  a  single  country  could  not  contain  them  nor  supply  them  with 
the  means  of  subsistence,  and  that  God  had  given  all  these  peoples 
in  charge  to  a  single  man  named  Peter,  whom  he  had  made  lord 
and  chief  of  the  human  race  to  the  end  that  all  men  wherever  born. 


CONQUEST  23 

1537 

or  in  whatsoever  religion  instructed,  should  obey  him.  This  man 
and  his  successors  were  called  popes,  that  is  to  say,  admirable,  j^reat, 
father,  protector.  One  of  these  pontiffs,  as  lonl  of  the  workl,  had 
granted  Terra  Firma  and  the  Islands  of  the  Ocean  to  the  kings  of 
Castile  and  their  successors.  Therefore  he,  Diego  de  Almagro, 
admonished  his  hearers  to  acknowledge  the  sovereignty  and  over- 
lordship  of  his  sovereign  and  to  allow  the  missionaries  to  preach 
the  faith  to  them. 

"  His  majesty,  and  I  in  his  name,"  continued  the  adelantado, 
"  will  receive  you  in  all  love  and  charity  and  will  leave  you  your 
wives  and  children  free,  without  servitude,  to  enjoy  all  your  rights 
of  property;  and  further  than  this,  his  majesty  will  give  you 
many  privileges  and  exemptions  and  will  show  you  many  favors. 
If  you  refuse  or  willfully  delay  to  obey  my  admonition,  then,  with 
God's  help,  I  will  invade  your  country  by  force  and  will  wage  war 
against  you  most  cruelly,  and  will  subject  you  to  the  yoke  and  obe- 
dience of  the  church  and  of  the  king,  and  will  take  your  wives  and 
children  and  make  them  slaves,  and  as  such  sell  and  dispose  of  them 
according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  his  majesty.  His  majesty  and  I 
will  take  from  you  your  goods  and  will  do  you  all  the  harm  and 
damage  that  I  can,  as  rebels,  who  refuse  to  submit  to  their  lawful 
sovereign.  And  I  protest  and  warn  you,  all  the  blood  that  shall 
be  shed  and  all  the  miseries  that  shall  follow  your  disobedience 
must  be  imputed  to  yourselves  alone,  and  not  to  his  majesty,  nor 
to  me,  nor  to  those  who  serve  under  my  orders.  Therefore,  hav- 
ing made  you  this  declaration  and  demand,  I  require  that  the 
notary  here  present  give  me  a  certificate  thereof  in  the  prescribed 
form." 

The  native  warriors  who  witnessed  this  ceremony  probably  un- 
derstood very  little  of  Almagro's  harangue.  In  their  ignorance  they 
respectfully  attended  upon  him  as  a  messenger  from  their  god,  Viza- 
cocha.  But  when  three  plundering  soldiers  were  killed  in  a  brawl 
and  Almagro  seized  the  chief  of  the  tribe,  his  brother,  and  twenty- 
seven  warriors,  and  burned  them  all  alive  in  revenge,  the  Indians 
swore  eternal  hatred  to  the  invaders.  Almagro  consolidated  his 
forces  and  attempted  to  penetrate  the  territory  of  the  Promaucans, 
but  suffered  a  serious  reverse  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Claro.  In  this 
critical  situation  he  learned  that  a  revolt  had  broken  out  in  Peru 
and  that  Pizarro,  shut  up  in  Lima,  was  cut  off  from  a  party  of  his 
companions,  who  were  themselves  besieged  near  Cuzco  by  large 


24  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1537-1538 

forces.  Almagro  concluded  that  the  time  was  ripe  for  revenge 
upon  his  old  comrade  and  hated  rival,  so  he  broke  camp  and  retraced 
his  steps. 

What  had  happened  in  Peru  since  the  departure  of  Almagro 
for  Chili?  j\Ianco-Capac,  who  reigned  in  Cuzco,  although  only 
in  name  and  under  the  guardianship  of  Pizarro  and  the  vigilance 
of  his  three  brothers,  was  able,  from  his  palace,  which  had  become 
his  prison,  to  correspond  with  some  friends  who  remained  loyal 
to  the  national  cause.  A  plot  was  laid  while  Pizarro  was  busy 
founding  Lima  and  dreaming  of  declaring  his  independence  of  Spain 
and  of  proclaiming  himself  child  of  the  sun  and  successor  of  the  in- 
cas.  A  festival  was  to  be  held  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  future 
capital  and  the  sovereign  of  Cuzco  was  invited  to  attend  it.  The 
occasion  seemed  favorable  for  the  execution  of  the  plan  which  had 
long  been  matured,  Plardly  had  Manco-Capac  left  the  walls  of 
Cuzco  when  the  war  cry  resounded  throughout  the  empire  and  two 
hundred  thousand  warriors  flocked  to  the  standard  of  the  inca. 
The  brothers  of  Pizarro,  attacked  in  Cuzco,  defended  themselves 
with  desperate  valor,  while  he  was  himself  savagely  and  repeatedly 
attacked  in  Lima. 

Such  was  the  situation  of  Peru  when  Almagro  arrived.  He 
brought  increase  of  discord.  The  time  had  come  when  the  con- 
querors were  to  fight  among  themselves  for  the  privilege  of  excelling 
in  cruelty  and  infamy.  After  a  difficult  march  across  the  snow- 
covered  Andes  through  terrible  solitudes  and  storms  more  terrible, 
he  arrived  before  Cuzco  with  the  wreck  of  his  army  and  without 
either  horses  or  baggage.  A  considerable  number  of  his  partisans 
flocked  to  his  standard.  At  their  head  he  fell  upon  Manco-Capac 
and  routed  him;  and  then  attacked  the  Pizarro  brothers  in  Cuzco. 
The  brothers  had  now  held  the  place  against  the  besiegers  for  nine 
months,  and  one  of  them,  Juan,  had  died.  Almagro  forced  them 
to  surrender,  but  was  soon  afterward  himself  beaten  and  captured 
by  Pizarro,  who  had  him  hanged  in  prison  and  afterward  decapi- 
tated in  the  public  square.  Almagro  was  seventy-five  years  old 
at  his  death.  Thus  perished,  in  April,  1538,  this  ferocious,  am- 
bitious, and  greedy  adventurer,  a  man  who  possessed  all  the  quali- 
ties of  a  brigand  and  among  them  only  one  that  was  praiseworthy, 
courage.  He  appointed  a  son,  whom  he  had  had  by  an  Indian 
woman  of  Panama,  as  his  successor  in  his  government. 

Pizarro  remained  sole  master  of  Peru  and,  to  find  employ- 


C  O  N  Q  U  1 :  S  T  25 

1535-1541 

ment  for  his  officers,  sent  them  out  in  (Hfferent  (hrcctions.  Knowl- 
edge of  the  interior  of  the  continent  was  rapidly  extended  to  the 
region  east  of  the  Andes;  upper  Peru  was  explored  as  far  as  the 
Grand  Chaco,  and  new  towns  were  added  to  those  already  exist- 
ing in  that  region.  To  the  north  Gon/.alo  Pizarro,  leaving  Quito 
in  search  of  the  province  of  Canela,  reached  the  banks  (jf  the  Xapo 
and  descended  it  for  the  greater  part  of  its  course.  Orcllana,  a 
member  of  the  expedition,  abandoned  it  and  continuing  the  descent 
reached  the  Amazon,  down  wdiich  he  voyaged  in  a  small  brigantine 
until  he  reached  its  mouth.  Some  years  before,  in  1531,  the  great 
rival  of  the  Amazon,  the  Orinoco,  had  been  explored  by  Diego  dc 
Ordaz,  who  had  ascended  it  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Mcia.  This 
Ordaz  had  been  one  of  the  conquerors  of  Mexico  and  boasted  that 
he  had  gathered  sulphur  for  that  enterprise  in  the  crater  of  Popo- 
catapetl,  in  commemoration  of  which  exploit  he  was  authorized 
to  add  to  his  coat  of  arms  a  flaming  volcano.  He  had  sought  and 
obtained  from  Charles  V.  the  government  of  all  the  country  he 
could  conquer  between  Brazil  and  the  coast  of  Venezuela.  He  set 
out.  Some  Indians  showed  him  emeralds  as  big  as  one's  fist  and 
pointed  out  the  mountain  which  produced  them.  Shipwreck  de- 
stroyed all  his  hopes,  but  the  exaggerated  descriptions  of  the  riches 
he  had  seen  helped  to  spread  the  belief  in  El  Dorado. 

The  La  Plata  was  not  overlooked.  In  1535  Pedro  de  'Men- 
doza,  a  rich  gentleman  of  Cadiz,  who  had  offered  to  Charles  V. 
to  undertake  at  his  own  expense  the  discovery  and  conquest  of 
Paraguay,  had  founded  Buenos  Ayres.  At  about  the  same  time 
Agolas  and  Irala  ascended  the  Parana,  entered  the  Paraguay  River, 
traced  it  up  to  the  Lake  Xarayes,  on  the  banks  of  which  he  founded 
the  city  of  Asuncion.  The  Tucuman,  the  Cuyo,  the  northern 
part  of  the  pampas,  w'cre  explored,  and  colonies  founded  there. 
In  the  general  movement  of  that  extraordinary  epoch  no  part  of 
America  was  overlooked.  In  Brazil  tlie  Portuguese  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  their  power  and  covered  the  coast  of  the  mainland  with 
towns. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Pizarro  thought  to  finish  on  his  own 
account  the  conquest  of  Chili,  which  had  been  commenced  by 
Almagro.  He  sent  thither  Pedro  de  Valdivia,  who  had  helped  to 
defeat  the  adelantado,  at  the  head  of  two  hundred  Spaniards  and 
a  great  number  of  Peruvians.  His  purpose  was  to  plant  a  penna- 
nent  colony  and  he  took  with  him  a  certain  number  of  women  and 


26  SOUTHAMERICA 

1541-1542 

priests.  He  fought  his  way  to  the  banks  of  the  Mapocho,  where, 
in  1 541,  he  founded  Santiago. 

During  this  time  Pizarro  had  sent  to  Spain  part  of  the  treas- 
ures wrested  from  the  vanquished,  thus  securing  for  himself  the 
favor  of  Charles  V.,  who  enlarged  the  privileges  which  had  been 
conferred  on  him,  made  him  a  knight  of  the  Order  of  Santiago, 
and  gave  him  the  title  of  Marquis  of  Las  Charcas.  He  was  charged 
with  the  duty  of  establishing  a  regular  government  in  the  vast 
possessions  he  had  conquered,  and,  although  an  unlettered  soldier, 
he  was  able  to  replace  by  his  keenness  and  good  judgment  the 
advantages  of  education.  He  divided  Peru  into  districts,  estab- 
lished magistrates  in  each,  organized  the  administration,  regulated 
the  collection  of  taxes,  the  working  of  the  mines,  and  the  mode 
of  treating  the  Indians.  But  he  abused  his  victory,  not  hesitating 
about  means  so  long  as  they  tended  to  secure  his  authority.  Sur- 
rounded by  his  mistresses,  among  whom  was  a  sister  of  Atahualpa, 
he  gave  himself  up  in  his  palace  at  Lima  to  all  kinds  of  excess, 
especially  to  gambling,  which  was  a  mania  with  him.  In  the  midst 
of  his  orgies  he  issued  the  most  tyrannical  orders.  His  brothers, 
his  friends,  and  his  partisans  had  received,  in  the  distribution  of 
spoils,  the  richest  districts,  and  all  their  inhabitants  as  slaves.  They 
were  like  so  many  satraps  asserting  their  absolute  right  to  rob  and 
oppress.  The  soldiers  of  Almagro,  and  those  who  were  suspected 
of  having  favored  his  cause,  were  not  only  excluded  from  a  share 
in  the  division  of  lands  and  offices,  but  were,  besides,  persecuted  as 
suspected  persons.  They,  therefore,  swore  to  rid  themselves  of  the 
despot  and  avenge  their  leader.  On  June  9,  1541,  in  broad  day, 
some  determined  men  set  upon  the  conqueror  in  his  palace,  riddled 
him  with  sword  thrusts  and  proclaimed  the  son  of  Almagro  as  gov- 
ernor general.  The  new  master  of  Peru  was  defeated  and  slain  in 
1542  by  Vaca  de  Castro,  with  whom  he  was  fighting  for  power. 

The  reign  of  terror  and  absolutism,  to  which  the  unfortunate 
Indians  were  subjected,  became  doubly  odious  amid  this  intestine 
strife.  Burning  to  enrich  themselves  quickly,  and  firmly  persuaded 
that  pillage  was  only  a  just  reward  for  their  labors  and  achieve- 
ments the  Spaniards  heaped  up  ruins  wherever  they  went,  robbing 
their  hapless  victims,  slaughtering  them  by  thousands,  reducing 
them  to  the  most  abject  slavery,  crushing  them  cruelly  by  forced 
labor,  burdening  them  with  endless  tasks.  Many  of  these  unfor- 
tunate men,  unwilling  to  give  themselves  up  to  utter  ruin,  marched 


^        ■„      -c 


CONQUEST  ii-! 

1541-1548 

with  their  caciques  into  the  depths  of  the  woods,  and  others,  in 
their  exasperation,  gladly  sacrificed  their  lives  to  avenge  tlicmsclvcs. 
Thus  died,  assassinated  in  1541  by  the  Indians  of  the  province  of 
Quispicanchi,  Father  Valverde,  who  in  1538  had  succeeded  h'cr- 
nando  Luque  in  the  bishopric  of  Cuzco.  The  atrocities  committed 
in  the  name  of  religion  by  Valverde  had  made  that  monster  an 
object  of  terror. 

Las  Casas  pleaded  the  cause  of  the  oppressed  at  the  Spanish 
court  and  Charles  V.  sent  out  as  viceroy  Nunez  Vela.  Gonzalo 
Pizarro,  who  had  returned  to  Peru  after  the  death  of  his  brother, 
marched  against  the  viceroy,  ejected  him  from  Lima,  pursued  him 
beyond  Quito,  defeated  and  slew  him  under  the  walls  of  that 
city  January  17,  1546,  He  afterward  made  his  triumphal  entry 
into  Lima,  and,  refusing  the  crown  which  his  soldiers  offered  him, 
contented  himself  with  taking  the  title  of  captain  general.  Still 
later  he  marched  against  Diego  Centena,  who  had  put  himself  at 
the  head  of  the  royalist  forces,  and  utterly  defeated  him  at  Guarina, 
October  16,  1547.  Attacked  in  the  following  year  by  the  presi- 
dent. La  Gasca,  who  was  sent  from  the  mother  country  with  unlim- 
ited powers,  and  deserted  by  his  troops,  he  was  beaten  in.  his  turn, 
condemned  and  executed  as  a  rebel,  and  his  head  was  exposed  on 
the  gallows  at  Lima.  His  house  was  razed  to  the  ground,  his  parti- 
sans slaughtered  indiscriminately,  and  his  brother,  Fernando,  wasted 
away  twenty-three  years  in  the  prisons  of  Madrid.  Even  such 
terrible  reprisals  did  not  put  an  end  to  anarchy,  which  continued 
until  the  reign  of  Philip  IL 

The  hope  of  finding  a  country  where  gold  was  to  be  had  in 
plenty,  a  country  which  seemed  to  vanish  mysteriously  from  be- 
fore those  who  sought  it,  filled  the  European  adventurers  with 
enthusiasm  and  made  them  dare  all  dangers  and  undergo  incredible 
labors.  This  imaginary  country  which  was  reputed  to  be  mar- 
velously  rich  in  gold  and  precious  stones  was  supposed  to  be  situ- 
ated not  far  from  the  fabulous  lake  of  Parima,  in  what  is  now 
Venezuela.  Guaynacapac,  one  of  the  sons  of  the  Inca  Atahualpa, 
with  some  thousands  of  fugitives,  was  said  to  have  penetrated 
and  conquered  the  vast  region  between  the  Amazon  and  the  Orinoco 
which  was  called  by  the  generic  name,  Guiana.  Here  he  had 
founded  an  empire  much  more  powerful  than  Peru,  whose  splendor 
and  wealth  surpassed  everything  in  the  known  world.  In  his 
capital,  Manoa,  were  palaces  whose  colonnades  were  encrusted  with 


28  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1541-1560 

emeralds,  and  temples  with  roofs  of  solid  gold.  Around  the  city 
spread  the  lake  of  Parima,  with  waves  of  molten  gold  and  a  bed 
of  pearls,  where  diamonds  were  as  plenty  as  pebbles.  The  mon- 
arch's august  body  was  anointed  each  morning  with  a  sweet  smell- 
ing resin  and  then  rolled  in  gold  dust,  and  this  unique  and  costly 
garment  was  washed  off  at  bedtime.  Juan  Martinez,  a  Spanish 
soldier  who  had  been  condemned  to  death  and  then  turned  adrift 
upon  the  Orinoco  in  a  canoe,  pretended  that  he  had  entered  Manoa 
and  lived  there  seven  months.  The  marvelous  wealth  which  daz- 
zled his  eyes  caused  him  to  give  the  city  the  nickname  of  El  Dorado. 

The  story  of  Martinez  was  deposited  after  his  death  in 
the  archives  of  Porto  Rico.  From  that  time  forward  all  the  region 
lying  between  the  upper  Orinoco  and  the  Marafion,  or  Amazon, 
was  the  scene  of  all  the  absurd  tales  with  which  the  popular  imag- 
ination was  fed.  Here  were  the  warrior  w^omen,  armed  with  the 
bow,  that  Orellana  was  forced  to  fight;  new  Amazons  who  led  a 
wandering  life  on  the  banks  of  the  great  river  to  escape  from  the 
galling  yoke  of  men.  Here  also,  among  other  prodigies,  were 
headless  men  with  eyes  in  their  shoulders  and  mouths  in  their 
bosoms.  The  numerous  expeditions  for  the  discovery  of  El  Dorado, 
the  land  of  gold,  the  romantic  experiences  of  the  explorers,  the 
persistence  of  the  belief  in  its  existence  until  the  last  years  of  the 
eighteenth  century  vvdien  the  Spaniard,  Antonio  Santos,  under- 
took the  last  search  for  it,  together  make  up  a  wonderful  story 
even  for  that  wonderful  age.  The  companions  of  Pizarro  w-ere  ex- 
cited by  the  exaggerated  stories  of  the  Indians  and  first  navigators 
and  rushed  into  the  search  for  these  regions  which  rumor  had  filled 
with  hoarded  treasures.  Orellana  claimed  that  he  saw  them  in 
his  journey  in  1541.  Pie  set  out  in  1549  with  three  ships,  but 
lost  two  of  them  on  the  coast  of  Caracas  and  died  there  of  mortifi- 
cation at  his  failure.  Gonzalo  Pizarro,  instead  of  Lake  Parima  with 
its  waves  of  licjuid  gold,  made  at  least  one  interesting  find.  He 
discovered  the  x-\merican  cinnamon  tree,  and  ought  to  be  remem- 
bered in  the  spice  trade.  Other  captains,  setting  out  simultaneously 
from  Venezuela,  New  Granada,  Peru,  Brazil,  and  the  Rio  de  la 
Plata,  for  the  conquest  of  the  provinces  of  the  golden  monarch, 
found  only  hardships,  misery,  and  disappointment. 

Pedro  de  Ursua,  one  of  the  bravest  soldiers  of  the  conqueror, 
who  started  from  Cuzco  at  the  head  of  some  of  his  bold  compan- 
ions, was  assassinated  on  the  road  by  his  lieutenant,   Lopez   de 


CO  XQ  TIES 'J'  09 

1534-1560 

Aguirre,  who  wns  desirous,  according  to  sonic,  of  being  tlic  sole 
chief  of  the  expecHtion,  and  acconhng  to  others,  of  getting  rid  of 
an  inconvenient  luisljand,  and  thus  being  able  U)  unite  himself  with 
the  fair  Ines  (1560). 

Unexpected  discoveries  were  the  result  of  these  expeditions. 
Some  Spanish  deserters,  who  wished  to  go  in  search  of  \-.\  Dorado 
on  their  own  account,  found  a  large  quantity  of  gold  in  the  valleys 
of  Caravaya;  they  first  drove  away  the  natives,  and,  abandoning 
dreams  for  reality,  settled  there  and  undertook  to  make  the  mn<,t 
of  the  riches  that  chance  had  put  into  their  hands.  This  hai)pened 
alxnit  1550.  The  secret  of  the  discovery  was  soon  divulged;  and 
the  viceroy,  desiring-  to  acquire  a  large  part  of  the  ])rorits  that 
might  result  from  it,  hastened  to  send  colonists,  soldiers,  engineers, 
and  masons.  Several  small  towns  were  built,  and  Charles  V.,  in 
return  for  an  ingot  of  gold  weighing  218  pounds,  sent  by  the  men 
of  San  Gaban  and  San  Juan  del  Oro,  granted  them  the  title  of 
Imperial  City  and  ennobled  all  their  inhabitants.  The  working  of 
the  nineteen  valleys  that  form  the  eastern  part  of  Caravaya  lasted 
more  than  two  centuries,  and  produced  many  millions  for  the 
crown  of  Spain. 

By  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  as  we  have  seen,  more 
than  half  of  America  was  already  known;  up  to  that  date  the 
Spaniards  held  the  first  place  among  the  conquerors;  the  Portu- 
guese followed  them;  but  during  the  second  half  of  the  century 
both  began  to  encounter  rivals  among  the  other  nations  of  the 
old  continent.  Brazil,  divided  into  captaincies  since  1534,  and 
given  a  g'eneral  government  in  1549,  had  seen,  from  the  early 
days  of  its  discovery,  French  traders  come  to  trafiic  in  dye  wood 
in  the  Bay  of  Rio  Janeiro.  These  adventurers  lived  on  good  terms 
with  the  tribe  of  the  Tamayos  who  peopled  that  region.  Their 
commercial  or  smuggling  operations  were  very  soon  followed  by 
an  attempt  at  conquest.  In  1555  a  knight  of  Alalta.  Villegagnon, 
protected  by  Admiral  Coligny  and  supported  by  tlie  French  Gov- 
ernment, came  wdth  a  large  number  of  Calvinists  to  settle  and 
fortify  themselves  on  an  island  that  even  now  bears  his  name.  This 
personage,  in  whom  were  united  a  craving  for  adventure  and  a 
decided  taste  for  religious  controversy,  did  not  lack  talent.  Un- 
fortunately, his  perfidy  and  excessive  vanity,  which  he  carried  so 
far  as  to  have  himself  addressed  as  King  of  Brazil,  made  him  insup- 
portable to  his  followers.     He  returned  to  Europe,  execrated  by  the 


30  SOUTHA^I  ERICA 

1559-1595 

Protestants  as  the  Cain  of  America,  but  the  colony,  always  allied 
with  the  Tamayos,  held  its  ground  and  received,  in  1559,  a  rein- 
forcement of  300  men,  led  by  Bois-le-Comte,  and  this  allowed  the 
French  to  form  a  new  settlement  on  the  west  coast  of  the  bay. 
Villegagnon  had  called  the  kingdom  of  his  ambitious  hopes  "  Ant- 
arctic France."  The  French  Calvinists  resisted  repeated  Portuguese 
attacks  for  years,  but  were  completely  crushed  in  January,  1567, 
after  an  heroic  resistance.  The  greater  part  of  their  possessions 
were  abandoned  to  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  and  a  war  of  extermina- 
tion against  the  Tamayos,  irreconcilable  enemies  of  the  Portuguese, 
was  carried  on  with  fury. 

Drake,  the  famous  English  seaman,  trained  in  coasting  voy- 
ages to  France  and  Holland,  was  for  the  space  of  about  twenty 
years  the  terror  of  the  Spanish  colonies.  His  first  exploit  was  the 
taking  of  Xombre  de  Dios  and  Vera  Cruz  on  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama  in  1573.  He  passed  the  Straits  of  Magellan  in  1578, 
laid  waste  the  coasts  of  Chili  and  Peru,  and,  when  he  returned 
to  England  gorged  with  plunder,  took  with  him  an  immense  booty. 
Seven  years  later  he  sacked  San  Domingo,  Cartagena,  and  Florida. 
In  1594  he  went  a-raiding  again  in  the  Caribbean,  and  in  1596  he 
burned  Santa  Marta  and  Rio  de  la  Hacha  on  the  coasts  of  New 
Granada.  On  this  expedition  a  cannon  ball  demolished  a  chair 
in  which  he  was  sitting,  but  he  escaped  without  injury.  Anger 
and  grief  at  the  losses  he  sufifered  at  Porto  Rico  and  Panama 
caused  his  death,  thus  delivering  the  Spaniards  from  one  of  their 
most  formidable  enemies. 

England,  who  appealed  to  the  expeditions  of  the  Cabots  in 
order  to  claim  a  part  of  the  American  territory,  had  proposed  to 
herself  the  double  object  of  augmenting  her  own  power  and  di- 
minishing that  of  Spain.  Such  was  the  idea  that  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh,  the  lover  and  favorite  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  cherished  dur- 
ing his  life.  He  also,  like  so  many  others,  had  allowed  himself 
to  be  carried  away  by  the  chimera  of  El  Dorado,  which  marvelous 
region  he  set  out  to  conquer  early  in  1595.  On  March  22  of  the 
same  year  he  disembarked  in  the  Island  of  Trinidad,  seized  the 
fort  that  the  Spaniards  had  built  and  made  prisoners  of  the  com- 
mander and  his  officers.  The  Indians  had  seen  twenty-three  expe- 
ditions set  out  from  this  point,  but  their  failure  did  not  lessen 
Raleigh's  zeal.  He  marched  a  hundred  leagues,  but  was  stopped 
by  the  rains  and  the  overflow  of  the  rivers.     He  returned,  then,  to 


CONQUEST  31 

1595-1618 

Trinidad,  and  afterward  to  England,  but  not  before  he  had  put  t(j 
ransom  and  pillaged  the  Spanish  settlements  on  the  coast.  The 
next  year  he  fitted  out  a  second  expedition,  under  Lawrence  Key- 
mis,  who  explored  all  that  part  of  the  coast  included  between  the 
River  Amazon  and  the  Orinoco,  without  catcliing  a  glimpse  of  El 
Dorado;  which  he  conjectured  should  be  sought  toward  the  Oya- 
pock.  Through  him  we  know  that  the  Erench  at  that  time  sought 
the  coast  of  Guiana  for  dye  wood.  About  1604  they  attempted  a 
settlement  there.  What  is  now  French  Guiana  was  first  called 
"  Equinoctial  France." 

On  October  14,  1596,  a  third  expedition  fitted  out  by  Raleigh 
set  sail  under  the  command  of  Thomas  ]\Iasham,  but  soon  re- 
turned for  lack  of  sufficient  forces  to  maintain  itself  against  the 
Spaniards,  who  were  already  beginning  to  fortify  their  possessions 
in  these  parts.  In  161 7  the  obstinate  Raleigh  again  set  sail  with  a 
squadron  of  tw^elve  ships.  Betrayed  to  Spain  by  King  James,  to 
whom  he  had  communicated  his  plans,  his  passage  to  Guiana  was 
opposed;  his  son  Walter  and  Keymis  attacked  and  burned  San 
Tome,  reducing  it  to  ashes.  Diego  de  Palamesa,  who  bore  the  title 
of  Governor  of  Guiana,  El  Dorado  and  Trinidad,  lost  his  life  in  this 
action,  and  the  young  Walter  suffered  the  same  fate.  Keymis,  in- 
stead of  advancing,  retreated  to  join  Raleigh,  and,  unable  to  bear 
his  reproaches,  committed  suicide.  Raleigh  returned  to  England 
heart-broken  and  entirely  ruined.  He  was  prosecuted  on  the  com- 
plaint of  Spain  and  accused  of  having  violated  Spanish  territory. 
He  replied  that  it  was  the  Spaniards  who  should  be  accused  of 
seizing  a  territory  that  belonged  to  England,  since,  during  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth,  his  squadrons  had  been  the  first  to  take  posses- 
sion of  Guiana  in  the  name  of  England;  and  King  James,  he 
added,  had  sanctioned  his  action  by  granting  to  Charles  Leigh 
and  to  Harcourt  a  part  of  the  lands  of  Guiana,  and  conse- 
quently he  had  not  exceeded  the  powers  that  the  king  had  conferred 
upon  him.  All  that  he  put  forward  in  his  defense  and  in  favor 
of  the  rights  of  priority  of  his  country  was  useless ;  Spain  demanded 
his  head  and  James,  the  royal  pedant,  was  base  enough  to  yield  to 
the  demand.  The  accusation  of  treason  for  which  he  had  been 
condemned  to  death  fifteen  years  before  v.-as  revived  against  him 
and  he  was  sent  to  the  block.  Before  receiving  the  fatal  stroke 
he  took  the  ax  from  the  hands  of  the  headsman,  examined  its  edge, 
and,  having  found  it  to  his  mind,  said :    "  It  is  a  sharp  remedy, 


32  SOU  T  H     A  :M  E  R  I  C  A 

1544-1618 

but  it  cures  all  ills."  So  died,  at  the  age  of  sixty-six  years,  one  of 
the  greatest  men  England  has  produced,  basely  sacrificed  to  a  rival 
nation. 

Five  nations  were  to  contend  persistently  for  Guiana — Spain, 
Portugal,  France,  England,  and  Holland.  After  spilling  much 
blood  and  heaping  up  many  ruins,  these  powers  ended  by  dividing 
among  themselves  the  disputed  territory;  but  the  wars  of  independ- 
ence have  completely  eliminated  the  first  two. 

At  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  there  was  very  little  of 
importance  remaining  to  be  discovered  in  South  America ;  thus  it  is 
that,  with  few  exceptions,  the  early  years  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury are  much  more  remarkable  for  the  part  that  the  European 
nations  took  in  the  great  movement  of  colonization,  than  for  those 
hazardous  expeditions  characteristic  of  the  first  period  of  the  con- 
quest. We  must,  nevertheless,  mention  an  attempt  made  by  the 
Spaniards  in  1584  to  settle  on  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  near  Cape 
Froward;  the  name  of  Port  Famine,  given  by  them  to  the  site 
which  they  had  attempted  to  occupy,  has  preserved  the  memory  of 
their  sufferings.  Six  years  later  the  Jesuits,  more  fortunate,  laid 
in  Paraguay  the  foundations  of  that  colossal  power  that  lasted  for 
more  than  two  centuries,  of  which  we  shall  have  occasion  to  speak 
later. 

In  1 61 6  the  Dutch  navigator  Jacques  Lemaire.  with  the  pilot 
Schouten,  discovered  the  strait  south  of  the  American  continent 
which  bears  his  name,  situated  between  Staaten  Island  and  Tierra 
del  Fuego.  He  doubled  Cape  Horn  and  crossed  the  Pacific,  point- 
ing out  to  mariners  a  shorter  and  safer  route  to  those  seas  than 
the  Straits  of  Magellan.  New  explorations  were  carried  out 
at  the  same  time  in  Brazil,  where  in  spite  of  the  royal  prohibi- 
tion by  Portugal  of  exploration  in  the  interior,  the  Paulists, 
in  the  prosecution  of  vast  slave  raids,  reached  the  banks  of  the 
River  Amazon  and  the  frontiers  of  Peru.  The  nascent  prosperity 
of  this  country  could  not  fail  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  other 
European  nations.  The  French,  who  were  always  prowling  along 
the  coast,  formed  some  ephemeral  settlements  at  the  mouth  and 
on  the  banks  of  the  Amazon.  In  1544  Jacques  Riffault,  a  buccaneer 
of  Dieppe,  seized  the  uninhabited  Island  of  Maranham  and  made  a 
treaty  with  the  Indians.  He  then  returned  to  France  and  organized 
a  maritime  company  which  fitted  out  a  large  expedition  under  the 
command  of  Daniel  de  la  Ravardiere,  who  founded  on  the  island  a 


C  O  N  Q  U  K  S  T  33 

1614-1654 

colony  named  St.  Louis  in  honor  of  Louis  XIII.,  wlio  had  promised 
to  support  the  enterprise.  The  colonists  huilt  a  fort  and  extended 
their  power  over  a  considerable  territory,  but  at  last  were  defeated 
with  fifteen  hundred  Indian  allies  in  1614,  and  comi)lelely  expelled 
from  the  island  in  the  next  year. 

In  i6j4  the  Dutch  under  Admiral  Villekens  bc£;an  the  conquest 
of  Brazil  by  attacking  Bahia,  which  they  took  and  pillaged.  Ke- 
l)ulsed  by  the  Spanish  troops,  for  Portugal  was  then  under  the 
power  of  Spain,  they  returned  to  the  charge  in  i'")30,  took  Pernam- 
buco  and  made  themselves  masters  of  several  provinces  in  succes- 
sion. After  several  years  of  hard  fighting  they  remained  masters 
of  the  north  part,  and  wdien  Portugal  had  recovered  her  independ- 
ence John  IV.  ceded  it  to  them,  by  the  treaty  of  1641,  in  order  to 
procure  allies.  But  the  violent  and  tyrannical  conduct  of  the  Dutch 
aroused  the  colonists,  who  expelled  them  in  1654,  after  a  san- 
guinary struggle.  Four  men,  representatives  of  the  various  races 
that  compose  the  Brazilian  population,  had  prepared  and  executed 
this  great  act  of  liberating  their  country  from  foreign  rule.  Vidal, 
a  white  man;  Fernandez  Vieira,  a  mulatto;  Diaz,  a  negro;  and 
Cameran,  an  Indian,  are  the  men  that  Brazil  considers  as  her  lib- 
erators, and  the  real  chief,  the  mulatto  Fernandez  Vieira,  the  true 
hero  of  the  enterprise,  who  afterward  resigned  his  power  when  the 
work  of  liberation  was  finished. 

"  No  epoch  in  Brazilian  history,"  says  Ferdinand  Denis,  "  is 
so  heroic  and  dramatic.  Now  Vieira.  after  conquering  most  of 
the  coast  towns  and  being  invested  w^th  dictatorial  power,  gives 
up  his  authority  into  hands  which  he  deems  stronger  and  more 
skillful  than  his  own ;  again,  on  receiving  a  royal  order  to  cease 
hostilities,  he  replies  that  he  will  gladly  suffer  the  penalty  of  dis- 
obedience after  he  has  restored  to  the  crown  its  best  dependency. 
It  is  Cameran,  the  Indian,  a  survivor  of  the  great  tribes  which  have 
been  annihilated,  whose  presence  and  indomitable  courage  are 
needed  on  every  battlefield,  and  wdio  has  so  high  a  sense  of  his  own 
rank  as  a  savage  chief  that  he  never  speaks  the  language  of  his 
conquerors,  not  that  he  does  not  understand  it  as  well  as  his  own, 
but  because  he  fears  that  he  cannot  express  himself  with  sufficient 
dignity.  It  is  Enrique  Diaz  who,  when  he  loses  one  hand,  seizes 
his  weapons  with  the  other  and  rushes  into  the  thick  of  the  fight 
with  all  the  impetuous  courage  of  the  African  race." 

On  January  27,   1654,  Brazil  was  at  last  delivered  from  the 


34  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1654-1715 

foreign  yoke.  It  long  remained  almost  unknown  to  the  other 
European  nations,  who  were  rigidly  excluded  from  all  intercourse 
with  the  colony.  From  French  and  English  smugglers  and  an 
occasional  ship  of  war  permitted  by  special  favor  to  put  in  at  a 
Brazilian  port  Europe  heard  vaguely  of  events  in  these  far-away 
regions.  It  is  this  that  makes  the  expedition  of  Duclerc,  in  lyio, 
so  notable.  Portugal  was  then  at  war  with  France.  Duclerc  ar- 
rived in  the  neighborhood  of  Rio  Janeiro  in  August,  disembarked 
with  900  men  in  Guatariba,  was  attacked  by  three  thousand  Portu- 
guese and  five  thousand  negroes  or  mulattoes,  whom  he  defeated, 
but  on  entering  the  city  he  encountered  a  murderous  fire  from  the 
houses,  was  overwhelmed  by  numbers,  defeated,  and  killed,  and  the 
greater  part  of  his  men  died  of  hunger  in  the  prisons.  To  avenge 
this  defeat,  another  expedition  sailed  from  France  in  the  following 
year,  under  the  command  of  Duguay  Trouin,  who  forced  the  de- 
fenses of  the  harbor,  captured  the  city,  and  levied  an  enormous 
ransom  upon  it. 

In  Chili  the  war  between  the  Spaniards  and  the  Araucanians, 
v/hich  had  continued  for  more  than  a  century,  partly  ceased  by 
the  treaty  of  peace  of  1641.  The  Araucanians  retained  their  ter- 
ritory, undertaking  not  to  permit  any  foreign  nation  to  disembark 
in  it,  and  they  fulfilled  their  promise ;  but  hostilities  were  frequently 
renewed,  and  it  was  necessary  for  another  century  to  pass  before 
another  treaty  put  an  end  to  this  war  which  had  cost  Spain  so 
many  lives. 

In  1667  French  ships  entered  the  Pacific  Ocean  for  the  first 
time,  and  carried  on  a  considerable  trade  until  the  Peace  of  Utrecht 
(1713).  During  this  period  voyages  of  exploration  were  made  by 
the  astronomer  and  botanist,  Fueillee  (1699-1707),  by  the  engineer, 
Fezier  (1711),  and  by  the  Breton,  Labarbinais  Le  Gentil  (171 5), 
and  they  were  the  first  to  give  to  the  world  definite  knowledge 
about  Chili  and  Peru.  The  archipelagoes  of  Chiloe  and  Chonos, 
Patagonia  and  the  Galapagos  Islands,  were  studied  anew  in  the 
latter  years  of  the  seventeenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
centuries  by  two  Englishmen,  Narborough  and  Wood,  and  by  the 
Frenchmen,  Degennes  and  Beauchesne-Gouin. 

This  epoch  was  marked  by  the  ever-increasing  progress  of 
colonization  in  the  interior  of  the  continent,  especially  in  Brazil 
and  Paraguay,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Amazon  and  its  tributaries ; 
the  coasts,  also,  became  better  known.    Only  a  hundred  years  later, 


CONQUEST  35 

1713 

in  1799,  Humboldt  and  Bompland  undertook  their  celebrated  jour- 
ney, fixing  the  geography  of  the  Orinoco,  and  of  Colombia,  l*eru, 
and  Mexico,  a  journey  that  did  not  terminate  until  1805.  The 
way  had  been  opened  for  the  investigations  of  science.  From  this 
date  the  more  pacific  triumphs  of  study  take  the  place  of  the  san- 
guinary triumphs  of  the  conquest.  Later,  the  emancipation  of 
the  Spanish  colonies  and  of  Brazil,  opening  up  the  widest  field  to 
the  activity  of  all  nations,  will  give  rise  to  a  multitude  of  observa- 
tions and  discoveries  which  will  add  to  the  known  marvels  those 
that  are  yet  unknown.  But  now  the  army  that  spreads  over 
America,  not  without  facing  great  dangers,  has  not  rapine  and  ex- 
termination for  its  object;  it  does  not  come  to  crush  under  its  feet 
a  whole  world,  nor  for  bloodshed;  its  chiefs  are  not  the  scum  of 
the  civilized  nations,  the  bold  and  greedy  adventurers  of  former 
times,  outcasts,  and  filibusters  from  all  countries;  they  are  the 
chosen  leaders  of  humanitarian  science,  geographers,  botanists, 
astronomers,  physicians — in  a  word,  they  are  all  men  of  wisdom 
and  research,  whose  glory  will  at  least  cause  no  tears  to  be  shed. 


chapter  III 

COLONIZATION.    1 534-1810 

THE  story  of  tlie  colonization  of  the  New  World  is  the 
second  act  of  the  passion  and  martyrdom  of  the  miserable 
Indians. 

"  The  raging-  Iberian  lion  hurled  himself,  centuries  ago,  from 
the  pillars  of  Hercules  upon  the  empire  of  Montezuma  and  Ata- 
hualpa,  and  devoured  unhappy  America,"  wrote  the  deputies  signa- 
tory to  the  declaration  of  independence  of  Upper  Peru  (Bolivia) 
in  1825. 

The  old  continent  took  possession  of  the  new  by  virtue  of  the 
brutal  axiom  that  might  makes  right.  All  means  of  monopolizing 
the  prize  and  of  squeezing  out  the  last  drop  of  its  riches  were  consid- 
ered just.  There  was  no  other  conception  than  the  complete  sub- 
jugation of  the  people  and  the  wealth  of  the  country.  The  policy 
of  sharing  with  a  conquered  people  the  advantages  of  the  civiliza- 
tion and  commerce  of  the  mother  country,  to  the  profit  of  the  latter, 
is  very  modern.  As  Rossi  remarks  in  treating  of  colonies,  the 
idea  of  raising  to  some  sort  of  political  life  men  of  another  race 
and  language,  who  were  regarded  as  infidels  with  whom  there  was 
nothing  in  common,  not  even  color,  could  not  have  sprung  from 
the  minds  of  that  age.  What  the  age  desired  had  been  the  desire 
of  classical  antiquity — absolute  domination,  with  no  choice  to 
the  aborigines  but  slavery  or  death. 

Thus,  but  a  small  number  of  the  natives  in  America  survived 
the  conquest.  In  some  places,  such  as  San  Domingo,  for  example, 
they  completely  disappeared.  The  terrible  military  power  of  the 
Spaniards,  the  superiority  of  their  tactics,  the  unscrupulous  trickery 
of  their  diplomacy,  overpowered  alike  organized  states  and  scat- 
tered tribes.  The  former  were  a  prey  to  the  ambitions  of  rival 
princes,  the  latter  were  not  united  by  any  bond. 

It  was  only  after  terrible  struggles,  lasting  more  than  a  cen- 
tury, that  a  uniform  and  general  colonization  could  be  carried  out. 
The  Spaniards  long  considered  themselves  as  almost  the  sole  mas- 
se 


COLON  IZ  AT  lOX  37 

1534-1562 

ters  of  the  New  World.  In  South  America,  which  alone  interests 
ns  now,  they  held,  before  the  war  of  in(lej)cn(lence:  Xew  Tlranada. 
Peru,  Chili,  Rio  de  la  Plata,  and  the  cai)tain  generalcy  of  Caracas, 
which  have  since  been  transformed  into  inde])endcnt  republics,  a 
territory  about  sixteen  times  larger  than  Spain.  The  Portuguese 
held  Brazil  until  1821.  The  French,  Dutch,  and  English  held  parts 
of  Guiana.  Patagonia,  which  has  recently  been  a  bone  of  contentifjn 
between  Chili  and  the  Argentine  l\ei)ublic,  was  still  in  the  hands 
of  its  native  masters.  Under  the  Spanish  domination  it  was  rated 
as  a  part  of  the  viceroyalty  of  La  Plata,  though  the  wandering 
tribes  who  occupied  it  were  then  as  now  practically  independent. 

The  conquerors  posed  as  the  bearers  of  the  blessing  of  civiliza- 
tion and  Christianity  to  the  American  peoples.  The  pretext  was 
ingenious;  their  true  aim,  and  they  never  had  any  other,  was  lust  of 
gold,  and  the  central  power  itself  had  no  more  noble  motive  than 
simple  greed.  The  massacres  which  stain  the  record  of  the  Euro- 
peans from  the  very  beginning  throw  light  on  this  point.  Do  we 
not  know  how  these  well  disposed  and  peaceful  tribes,  who  came 
trustfully  before  the  conquerors,  were  betrayed,  robbed,  and  butch- 
ered without  mercy?  The  incas  were  put  to  death,  empires  over- 
thrown, civilization  blotted  out,  temples  burned,  statues  broken, 
precious  vessels  melted  down.  The  Ouipos,  or  annals  of  the  Peru- 
vians, preserved  in  cords  by  a  curious  system  of  knots,  which 
served  instead  of  written  records,  were  scattered  to  the  winds,  and 
the  work  of  centuries  disappeared.  The  destruction  was  as  sudden 
as  robbery,  as  ferocious  as  crime.  The  blessings  these  Spanish 
adventurers  brought  wdth  them  to  America  were  ruins  and  ashes, 
tears  and  blood.  They  imposed  their  language,  their  customs,  and, 
above  all,  their  vices  on  this  virgin  soil  which  Nature  had  loaded 
with  her  gifts. 

The  vast  territory  of  Brazil  after  1534  was  divided  into  heredi- 
tary and  mutually  independent  captaincies,  each  stretching  fifty 
leagues  along  the  coast.  They  were  granted  as  fiefs  with  ex- 
traordinary rights  of  lordship  and  certain  prerogatives  of  sover- 
eignty to  men  of  influence,  who  undertook  to  colonize  them  at 
their  own  risk  and  to  defend  them  against  attack  from  within  and 
without.  At  the  head  of  the  colonial  government  was  a  governor 
general.  This  system  lasted  for  two  centuries  and  was  ably  sup- 
ported by  the  Franciscans,  the  Carmelites,  and  above  all  the  Jes- 
uits, wdio,  it  must  be  confessed,  knew  how  to  protect  the  Indians 


38  SOUTHAMERICA 

1562-1759 

from  the  brutal  ferocity  of  the  colonists.  In  1562  and  1563  their 
opportune  intervention  put  a  stop  to  the  war  between  the  Tamayos 
and  the  Portuguese.  In  1640,  thanks  to  their  labors,  the  bull  of 
Paul  III.  in  favor  of  the  natives  of  Peru  was  extended  to  Brazil 
by  Urban  VIII.  The  colonists  of  Rio  Janeiro  and  the  Paulists,  in 
a  rage,  took  up  arms  to  drive  out  the  Jesuits,  who  finally  yielded 
and  accepted  conditions  which  substantially  nullified  the  bull.  Then, 
when  their  colleges  became  numerous  and  their  missions  were  firmly 
established,  they  again  raised  their  heads  and  sought  to  rule  a  state 
within  the  state.  By  the  decree  of  September  3,  1759,  they  were 
finally  expelled. 

But  the  most  active  agency  of  colonization  in  Brazil  was  that 
of  the  Paulists,  whose  famous  banderias  (expeditions)  explored 
vast  territories,  immense  river  systems,  and  the  highest  mountain 
ranges.  They  were  always  victorious,  penetrated  the  most  distant 
wastes,  and  made  the  first  settlements  there.  These  hardy  ad- 
venturers, the  offspring  of  white  men  and  Indian  women,  whose 
exploits  are  recounted  in  Brazilian  legends,  were  the  real  con- 
querors of  the  interior.  Their  business  was  to  hunt  the  savages 
who  had  fled  into  the  forest.  Making  what  was  called  descer  indios 
(onfall  upon  the  Indians),  these  sertanejos  of  St.  Paul  slew  with- 
out mercy  those  who  would  not  submit  to  slavery  and  marched 
the  rest  off  to  be  sold  at  a  special  slave-mart  called  the  Curral 
(corral).     A  contemporary  Brazilian  writer,   De  Macedo,  says:^ 

*'  Whatever  disturbances  were  caused  by  the  quarrels  of  the 
Jesuit  fathers  on  the  subject  of  the  control  and  management  of  the 
Indians,  whatever  abuses  they  were  guilty  of  in  pursuit  of  worldly 
and  material  interests,  it  is  certain  that  their  influence,  their  con- 
duct, their  system,  and  their  real  or  pretended  schemes  for  power 
and  temporal  greatness  deserve  the  blessings  of  mankind,  when 
compared  with  the  burnings  of  Indian  villages,  the  horrible  massa- 
cres, the  enslavement  of  thousands  of  natives  by  banderias  or 
descidas  de  indios,  and  the  other  dreadful  crimes  of  those  colonists 
who  were  then  lauded  as  heroes,  but  whose  monstrous  cruelties  are 
weighed  in  a  just  balance  by  the  civilization  of  to-day." 

The  Jesuit,  with  all  his  faults,  was  a  saint  in  comparison  with 
the  Portuguese  colonist  who  murdered  Indians  by  the  hundred 
for  mere  lust  of  blood  and  delight  in  terrorizing  the  natives.  Wit- 
ness that  Pedro  da  Costa  Favella  who,  in  1665,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Urubri,  burned  thirty  villages  of  the  Caboquenas,  shot  eight 
1 "  Notions  de  Chorographie  du  Bresil,"  Leipzig,  1873. 


COLONIZATION  39 

1628-1665 

hundred  of  their  miserable  inhabitants,  and  dra,G;<:^ed  llie  rest  into 
slavery,  in  revenge  for  the  death  of  a  few  soldiers  eni^at^ed  in  the 
Indian  slave  trade,  whom  the  Caboquenas  had  killed  in  defense  of 
their  own  liberty.  Whenever  laborers  were  needed  in  town  or 
country  man-hunts  were  organized  by  the  government.  One  such 
expedition,  in  1628,  met  with  a  bloody  resistance  from  the  Indians. 
But  what  could  naked  men  avail  with  spears  and  arrows  against 
disciplined  troops  equipped  with  firearms?  The  unfortunates  were 
slaughtered  so  pitilessly  that  the  governor  of  Para,  Francisco 
Coelho  de  Carvalho,  was  disturbed  by  the  public  outcry,  and  hastilv 
recalled  the  expedition.  He  repealed  the  decree  which  allowed 
the  slave  trade  to  be  constantly  carried  on,  and  restricted  it  to 
two  hunts  a  year,  which  must  be  first  duly  authorized.  The  decree 
was  evaded  and  man-hunting  continued  as  before,  though  without 
license. 

Time  changed  this  order  of  things  somewhat.  The  all-power- 
ful minister  of  Joseph  I.,  the  Marquis  of  Pombal,  decreed  the 
equality  of  Indians  and  Portuguese  before  the  law,  and  enacted 
penalties  against  all  who  should  keep  up  the  degrading  distinctions 
between  natives  and  Europeans,  which  had  been  introduced  by  the 
Jesuits  and  the  colonists.  His  erroneous  notions  of  political  econ- 
omy unfortunately  led  him  to  restrict  freedom  of  foreign  commerce. 
Believing  that  restriction  and  monopoly  would  enrich  his  country, 
he  created  the  company  of  Grand-Para  and  Maranham  and  granted 
it  lucrative  privileges.  On  the  other  hand  his  reform  ordinances 
were  not  always  executed. 

The  Portuguese  settlements  in  Brazil  had  excited  the  jealousy 
of  the  Spaniards  as  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
It  was  truly  said  that  the  two  nations  were  neighbors  and  rivals 
in  both  worlds.  Spain  was  forced  to  create  in  America  a  system 
of  colonization  and  administration  suitable  to  counterbalance  the 
Portuguese  power.  She  sent  out  expeditions  in  order  to  hem 
Brazil  in  on  all  sides,  and  to  this  policy  the  discovery  of  Paraguay 
is  in  part  due.  The  quarrels  of  the  two  nations  over  their  bounda- 
ries were  hushed  from  time  to  time  only  to  break  out  again  with 
more  bitterness  than  before.  The  demarcation  of  Pope  Alexander 
VI.  served  no  other  purpose  than  to  open  the  way  for  forced  and 
false  interpretations  of  its  meaning. 

The  Spanish  possessions,  like  the  Portuguese,  were  handed 
over  to  satraps  who  came  from  the  peninsula,  traded  in  men  and 


40 


SOU  T  H     A  M  E  R I C  A 


1534-1810 


goods,  absolutely  free  of  control,  quickly  amassed  fortunes  and  re- 
turned in  haste  to  Spain  to  enjoy  in  peace  the  fruits  of  their  rob- 
beries. At  the  head  of  each  of  the  great  administrative  divisions 
there  was  a  man  of  high  rank  called  governor,  president,  or  cap- 
tain general.  He  was  commander  of  the  army,  exercised  control 
over  the  local  governors,  was  the  chief  dispenser  of  justice,  and 


was  president  of  the  audicncia  real  and  the  other  superior  courts. 
He  was  directly  responsible  to  the  king,  but  in  time  of  war  was 
under  the  immediate  authority  of  the  viceroy.  The  residence  of  the 
viceroy  was  Peru.  For  more  than  two  centuries  the  audicncia  of 
Lima  included  in  its  jurisdiction  Buenos  Ay  res,  distant  more  than 
2500  miles.  It  was  only  in  1776  that  La  Plata  was  erected  into  a 
viceroyalty  with  Buenos  Ayres  as  its  capital.     In  1718  New  Gran- 


C  O  L  0  N  I  Z  A  T  1  0  N  41 

1534-1810 

ada,  which  had  until  then  heen  dependent  on  Pern,  had  in  hkc 
manner  been  erected  into  a  viccroyalty. 

Eacli  province  was  governed  l)y  a  prefect  or  corrc^idor.  In 
theory  he  was  ap])ointe(l  by  tlic  Spanish  court,  but,  because  of  ihe 
g-reat  distance  from  Spain,  the  governor  often  assumed  the  right 
to  fill  vacant  prefectures.  T\\(i  corrci^idors  exercised  both  civil 
and  military  powers.  In  each  provincial  capital  there  was  a  council 
of  magistrates  (cabildo)  made  up  of  several  rci^idors  or  life-mem- 
bers, a  standard-bearer,  a  public  prosecutor,  an  alcalde  provincial 
(provincial  mayor),  an  alguazil,  or  chief  justice,  and  two  alcaldes, 
or  consuls.  These  last  were  drawn  from  the  ranks  of  the  nobles 
and  annually  elected  by  the  cabildo. 

The  audicncia  real,  a  true  engine  of  oppression,  was  the  court 
of  last  resort  for  all  civil  and  criminal  cases,  except  that  in 
cases  where  the  amount  in  controversy  was  more  than  $6000 
an  appeal  might  be  taken  to  the  Great  Council  of  the  Indies, 
which  the  kings  of  Spain  used  as  their  instrument  for  drawing 
up  the  collection  of  laws  and  ordinances  known  as  the  Recopilacion 
de  Indias,  and  which  never  accomplished  any  practical  good. 
Neither  natives  nor  Creoles  could  get  justice  from  the  audicncias, 
which  were  made  up  wholly  of  Europeans  and  did  not  scruple  to 
banish  those  who  w^ere  pointed  out  for  punishment  at  their  hands. 

Each  aiidiencia  sat  in  two  divisions — the  chancery  and  the 
criminal  court.  In  each  division  there  was  a  president,  a  fiscal  or 
king's  counsel,  a  guardian  of  the  Indians,  and  several  auditors, 
all  grossly  overpaid.  The  other  courts  had  jurisdiction  of  the 
finances,  of  vacant  lands,  and  of  commerce. 

Of  the  ecclesiastical  system,  which  included  many  dioceses, 
it  is  enough  to  say  that  there  was  at  Lima  a  tribunal  of  the  Holy 
Office  which  maintained  inquisitors,  commissioners,  and  many  em- 
ployees of  lower  rank  in  all  the  chief  towns  of  the  captaincy.  Cer- 
tain provinces,  like  those  of  La  Plata,  were  in  a  chronic  state  of 
anarchy,  every  man  striving  for  the  supreme  power:  and  the 
boldest  or  most  unscrupulous,  who  won  the  prize  and  got  rid  of  his 
rivals,  by  fair  means  or  foul,  was  certain  to  get  the  sanction  of 
the  Spanish  court.  Nunez  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  better  known  for 
his  explorations  in  North  America,  a  wealthy  gentleman,  stirred 
by  the  same  spirit  of  adventure  which  had  lately  lured  Mendoza 
to  his  ruin,  had  been  granted  by  Charles  V.  the  title  of  adel- 
aiitado    of    the    provinces    of    La    Plata.      He    was    ordered    to 


42  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1534-1310 

tolerate  "  neither  barristers  nor  attorneys,"  to  win  over  the  natives 
by  kindness,  and  to  permit  free  trade  with  them  by  everybody. 
His  humanity  toward  the  Indian  slaves  caused  an  insurrection  of 
the  colonists  and  royal  officers,  who  shipped  him  off  to  Spain  by 
force.  There  he  cleared  himself,  but  he  never  succeeded  in  regain- 
ing his  office.  Such  was  the  fate  of  every  man  who  followed  the 
promptings  of  justice  and  mercy.  On  the  other  hand  one  Irala,  a 
powerful  man  who  got  rid  of  a  rival  by  the  simple  process  of  behead- 
ing him,  was  confimied  in  the  title  of  governor,  which  he  had 
usurped.  To  do  him  justice,  his  rule  was  less  violent  and  arbitrary 
than  this  beginning  promised.  He  organized  the  encomiendas  under 
his  government  with  real  ability.  This  name  was  given  to  those 
groups  of  Indians  held  by  the  first  conquerors  in  servitude  for  a  term 
of  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  the  group  became  a  part  of  the 
royal  domain.  Later  another  kind  of  encomienda  was  granted  for 
a  term  of  ten  years  to  anybody  who  established  a  small  farming 
village  of  Indians  or  Creoles.  Then  were  laid  the  foundations  of 
the  theocratic  system  of  the  Jesuits,  which  we  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  describe  later.  In  1558  Irala  died.  In  1573  the  bishop 
of  Asuncion  usurped  the  right  to  appoint  the  governor  of  the 
colony.  His  appointee,  a  certain  Garay,  coolly  put  in  irons  the  legiti- 
mate governor,  who  did  not  long  survive.  His  nephew,  invested 
for  a  moment  with  the  semblance  of  authority,  was  murdered  by  the 
fanatical  Indians.  Garay,  to  be  sure,  soon  met  the  same  fate,  for 
such  was  the  inexorable  law;  the  victor  of  to-day  became  the  van- 
quished of  to-morrow. 

The  Spanish  treasury  faced  bankruptcy  after  the  death  of 
Charles  V.  The  people  were  disaffected  and  clamorous.  The  gov- 
ernment saw  in  America  its  only  means  of  salvation.  "  The  stress 
of  need  stifled  all  pity,"  says  Farini,  "  and  the  demands  of  the  hour 
allowed  no  thought  of  the  future.  It  was  not  enough  to  torture  the 
natives  and  dig  up  the  soil  of  whole  provinces  in  the  mad  search  for 
gold  and  silver;  but  all  offices  were  put  up  at  auction.  The  pur- 
chasers did  not  fail  to  force  their  subordinates  to  pay,  and  these  to 
force  others,  and  so  on  down  to  the  last  link  of  the  social  chain,  the 
laborer,  who  was  a  sort  of  beast  of  burden,  carrying  an  enormous 
load,  broken  down  by  blows,  and  begrudged  the  miserable  pittance 
which  was  contemptuously  thrown  to  him.  The  mother  country,  in 
its  commerce  with  the  colonies,  was  not  content  with  the  lion's  share 
of  the  profits,  but  must  have  them  all.     Thus,  for  instance,  Chili 


(COLONIZATION  43 

1534-1810 

must  abandon  the  cultivation  of  the  grape  and  the  oHve  and  consume 
only  the  wine  and  oil  of  Spain.  The  customs  duties  levied  upon 
colonial  products  were  enormous.  The  treasures  of  South  America 
must  be  sent  to  the  mother  country  and  the  Americans  could  not  buy 
from  other  nations  even  those  necessities  which  Spain  did  not  pro- 
duce. Only  Spaniards  might  settle  in  the  American  colonies.  Tiiese 
over-sea  possessions  were  guarded  with  the  strictest  jealousy,  and  a 
foreign  ship  which  wished  to  touch  there  .must  get  a  special  permit 
from  the  court  of  Madrid.  A  ship  in  distress  was  no  exception  to 
the  rule,  and  every  vessel  which  put  in  for  refuge  from  a  storm  was 
seized,  even  when  it  belonged  to  a  nation  in  alliance  with  Spain,  and 
the  crew  put  in  irons." 

Spain,  blind  to  everything  but  the  inexhaustible  revenue 
which  these  rich  territories  promised  to  yield,  had  from  the  first 
parceled  out  the  country  into  encomicndas  or  grants.  Thus  she, 
too,  created  a  feudal  system  in  America.  When  the  beginning  of  a 
common  political  organization  could  be  made,  the  real  power  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  holders  of  these  fiefs  and  was  used  or  abused 
at  their  pleasure.  The  encomienderos  or  grantees  were  the  feudal 
lords  of  the  conquered  country.  The  Indians  were  by  law  their 
slaves,  treated  like  beasts  of  burden,  forced  to  perform  the  heaviest 
tasks  without  the  slightest  compensation.  From  the  age  of  thir- 
teen years  every  Indian  must  pay  tribute,  and  if  he  had  not  the 
wherewith  to  pay  he  was  sold  as  a  slave.  And  this  was  not  all. 
Many  harmless  customs  were  forbidden  out  of  sheer  brutality; 
and  certain  modes  of  dress  which,  in  the  eyes  of  the  natives, 
were  the  mark  of  noble  lineage  or  of  a  certain  rank,  were  sup- 
pressed by  force.  For  example:  Certain  families  had  enjoyed  the 
privilege,  since  the  time  of  Manco-Capac,  of  cutting  the  hair  square 
in  front,  or  of  greatly  elongating  the  lobe  of  the  ear.  Pizarro  and 
his  rough  officers  spared  no  ridicule  of  the  high  officers  who  made 
it  a  point  of  honor  to  maintain  inviolate  these  priceless  rights.  Cer- 
tain officers  were  distinguished  from  those  subject  to  their  authority 
by  the  length  of  their  hair,  which  the  shears  must  never  touch. 
They  were  now  compelled  by  law  to  cut  it.  Harsh  measures  were 
taken  to  suppress  customs  which  doubtless  were  uncouth,  or  at  least 
appeared  so,  but  which  should  have  been  tolerated  for  a  time.  Such 
abuses  of  power  had  not  the  excuse  of  the  necessity  for  establishing 
colonization  on  a  firm  foundation ;  on  the  contrary,  they  resulted  in 
depopulation,  the  extermination  of  the  natives  by  the  sword  and  by 


44  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1534-1810 

forced  labor  in  the  mines.  Another  result  was  the  African  skve 
trade,  for  the  hands  which  war,  harsh  treatment  and  man-killing 
toil  destroyed  by  thousands  every  day,  must  be  replaced  somehow. 

A  philanthopist,  the  bishop  Las  Casas,  came  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  only  effective  means  for  saving  the  last  remnants  of 
the  native  race  was  to  use  for  the  same  purpose,  and  for  a  brief 
period,  another  race,  the  negroes,  who  could  better  endure  the  fierce 
heat  of  the  tropics.  Alas !  this  brief  period,  which  grew  into  forever, 
availed  nothing.  The  Indians  were  forced  to  toil  without  ceasing. 
Some  tilling  the  fields  under  the  rays  of  the  murderous  tropical  sun ; 
others  cast  into  the  sea  to  search  for  pearls;  still  others  buried  in 
the  mines  without  hope  of  ever  again  returning  to  the  upper  air. 
Under  the  pretense  of  bettering  their  lot^  Charles  V.  established  the 
Miia.  which  was  a  sort  of  civil  conscription  that,  instead  of  being 
an  advantage  to  the  Indians,  decimated  them.  Each  district  was 
annually  required  to  furnish  a  number  of  men  sufficient  for  the 
service  of  those  who  were  de\'eloping  its  resources.  Every  mine- 
owner  and  landholder  could  demand  as  many  Indians  as  he  needed. 
Now,  in  Peru  alone  there  were  fourteen  hundred  mines  in  process  of 
development.  Every  man  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  fifty 
years  was  subject  to  the  Mifa.  He  whom  the  lot  made  choice  of 
knew  the  sad  fate  in  store  for  him.  The  calling  of  his  name  was  a 
sentence  of  death,  for  out  of  every  five  of  these  wretched  victims  of 
greed  only  one,  on  an  average,  outlived  the  hardships  of  this  dread- 
ful service.  Before  departing,  all  those  chosen  made  last  provision 
as  for  death,  and  their  relatives  conducted  funeral  ceremonies  before 
them,  as  before  a  corpse.  But  their  tyrants  were  at  least  pious,  and 
a  mass  was  said  for  their  benefit,  though  it  was  but  one  burden  the 
more  upon  them,  for  they  must  attend  it,  and,  above  all,  pay  for  it. 
At  the  end  of  the  service  the  priest  took  their  oaths  of  fidelity  and 
obedience  to  the  King  of  Spain,  sprinkled  them  with  holy  water, 
])r()nounced  the  accustomed  formula,  zTte  con  Dios,  and  turned  his 
back  upon  them.  Hien  they  were  led  to  the  rich  gold  mines.  As- 
signed to  tb.e  task  of  excavation,  they  went  down  into  the  shafts  and 
galleries,  where  the  sudden  transition  from  the  pure  air  to  the 
pestilential  atmosphere  of  the  mines  brought  on  a  kind  of  asthma, 
of  which  they  usually  died  within  the  year,  if  excessive  toil,  bad 
food  and  despair  did  not  kill  them  sooner.  In  Peru  alone  the  Mita 
counted  eight  million  victims.  During  the  term  of  his  service  the 
Indian   was  entitled   to   receive    four  reals    (about   fifty  cents)    a 


COLONIZATION  45 

1534-1810 

day,  of  which  one-third  was  ])aid  i)ack  to  his  master  for  food. 
The  master  contrived  to  get  the  remaining-  two-thirds  also  on  ac- 
count of  advances  for  clothing  or  strong  drink.  When  the  term  of 
the  Alita  expired  the  Indian  who  had  by  any  chance  survived  must 
continue  his  service  until  his  debt  was  paid. 

^Vs  the  adventurers  who  descended  on  America  were  Jiidalgos, 
too  proud  to  walk,  and  as  a  horse  was  worth  about  eight  thou- 
sand dollars,  they  forced  men  to  carr)^  them  long  distances,  prefer- 
ring to  lose  several  Indians  rather  than  one  such  costly  mount. 
Every  Spaniard  on  a  journey  had  in  his  train  as  beasts  of  burden 
five  or  six  Indians,  chained  togetiier  and  heavily  loaded.  If  one 
succumbed  to  fatigue  on  the  way  his  head  was  cut  off  to  save  the 
trouble  of  opening  the  clasps  of  his  collar,  and  his  body  was  left  on 
the  road  to  be  devoured  by  beasts  of  prey.  According  to  Captain 
Palomino,  when  the  masters  of  the  New  World  went  to  explore  and 
take  possession  of  provinces  and  villages,  this  was  their  course  of 
procedure:  "If  the  people  received  the  explorers  as  friends  the 
Spaniards  put  them  to  the  torture  to  compel  a  disclosure  of  hidden 
treasures.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  natives  fled,  their  houses  were 
burned,  their  stores  of  provisions  destroyed  and  they  themselves 
tracked  like  fallow  deer  by  dogs  which  were  specially  trained  to  that 
horrible  hunting.  The  fields  lay  waste,  and  so  severe  a  famine 
followed  that  the  natives  died  by  hundreds  by  the  wayside." 

The  vanquished  could  not  bury  all  their  treasures  and,  above 
all,  could  not  conceal  their  mines.  This  was  a  means  of  retribution 
for  their  wrongs  as  Ernest  Charton  has  remarked,  for  this  vast 
wealth  ruined  and  corrupted  the  victors  instead  of  profiting  them. 
"  During  the  three  centuries  of  their  occupancy  of  South  America 
they  did  nothing  but  exploit  the  deposits  of  gold  and  silver.  The 
labor  of  the  natives  was  not  enough  to  satisfy  their  greed,  and  they 
imported  negro  slaves.  Yet  there  is  no  region  where  the  vegetable 
kingdom  is  so  rich,  the  soil  so  fertile  and  so  well  watered  a5  near 
the  equator.  But  the  Spaniards  neglected  to  investigate  the  re- 
sources of  the  provinces  which  they  had  conquered;  they  were 
ignorant  of  the  names  and  even  of  the  existence  of  many  great 
rivers  which  might  have  become  miportant  arteries  of  commerce. 
They  were  entirely  absorbed  in  the  exploitation  of  the  gold  mines, 
were  utterly  careless  of  the  future  and  despised  that  which  could 
have  opened  to  unborn  generations  an  inexhaustible  source  of 
wealth.     Spain,  proudly  proclaiming  herself  the  mistress  of  two 


46  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1534-1810 

oceans  and  two  continents,  could  do  nothing  but  destroy;  she 
created  nothing  great  or  lasting."  -  The  Spaniards  let  ruins  heap 
up  around  them.  Roads  disappeared,  bridges  fell  in,  dams  broke, 
irrigating  canals  choked  up,  and  soon  nothing  was  left  of  all  that 
the  genius  of  the  native  states  had  created  under  the  incas. 

Agriculture  was  neglected:  America  could  produce  excel- 
lent vines,  worthy  to  be  compared  wath  the  growth  of  Madeira  and 
the  Cape,  and  the  olive  could  flourish  there;  but  Spain  forbade 
the  cultivation  of  the  vine  and  the  olive  in  America  in  order 
to  monopolize  the  American  market  for  Spanish  wines  and  olives. 
Every  sort  of  manufacturing  establishment  was  forbidden.  Lum- 
bering in  the  forests  could  promise  large  returns,  but  nobody 
thought  of  it,  in  the  rush  for  immediate  profits.  As  for  the  future, 
who  cared  about  that?  All  energies  w-ere  bent  upon  gold  mining,  the 
only  industry  that  the  state  favored,  because  from  it  was  drawn  the 
most  unfailing  part  of  the  public  revenues.  The  soldier  turned  lord, 
dug  the  soil  only  to  get  the  precious  metals,  and  thought  only  of 
enriciiing  himself  at  the  expense  of  the  gang  of  natives  subjected  to 
him  by  order  of  the  king.  As  J.  M.  Guardia  ^  says:  "This 
is  the  hateful  cruelty,  infinitely  worse  and  a  thousand  times  more 
destructive  than  that  of  the  conquerors,  for  which  Spain  deserves 
esi)ecial  condemnation.  No  doubt  she  shed  innocent  blood  in 
the  conquest,  but  her  abominable  and  absurd  system  of  financial 
administration,  which  in  cold  blood  sacrificed  a  whole  race  to  enrich 
a  handful  of  adventurers  and  vagabonds  for  the  benefit  of  the 
government,  is  her  unpardonable  sin.  The  greedy  and  thriftless 
central  government  knew  no  pity  and  exploited,  with  detestable 
cunning,  the  most  foolish  of  human  passions.  The  intermarriage 
of  the  whites  and  the  Indians  was  the  only  means  for  establishing  a 
vigorous  and  united  people  and  thus  laying  the  foundations  of  future 
prosperity.  Race  prejudice,  strengthened  by  the  memories  of  the 
conquest,  was  arrayed  against  such  intermarriage,  and  the  central 
government  came  to  the  aid  of  race  prejudice  by  excluding  Mesti- 
^os  (half-breeds)  from  all  social  advantages  and  places  of  honor. 
1  he  Creoles  themselves  were  treated  as  inferiors.  Consequently 
the  administration  of  the  conquered  territories  was  exclusively 
HI  the  hands  of  men  who  had  no  stake  in  the  country  and  had 
no  thought  but  the  amassing  of  fortunes  to  be  spent  elsewhere. 

^  Quito,  "  Tour  du  Monde,"  Vol.  XV. 

»"Lci  repubhques  de  VAmerique  espagnole,"  1862. 


COLONIZATION  47 

1534-1810 

Thus  ruin  crept  in  and  all  germs  of  a  good  system  were  de- 
stroyed. The  Spanish  Government  was  concerned  only  with  its 
own  profit  and  prohibited  all  commerce  and  even  all  intercourse 
with  foreigners.  In  order  to  establish  monopoly  more  firmly  it 
adopted  a  rigorous  system  of  sequestration  and  isolation.  Thanks 
to  this  absurd  system,  South  America  was  given  over  wholly  to 
Spain,  which  has  been  the  most  backward  of  all  European  nations 
since  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century." 

We  have  described  the  Mita.  Another  instrument  of  oppres- 
sion and  tyranny  was  the  repartimiento,  which  granted  to  the  cor- 
regidors  the  privilege  of  selling  to  the  Indians  all  articles  necessary 
for  their  use.  These  officers  cynically  exploited  the  privilege,  forc- 
ing the  natives  to  buy  of  them,  at  high  prices,  utterly  useless  or 
worthless  articles.  The  collection  of  the  royal  tribute  also  gave 
a  chance  for  outrageous  extortion. 

Paul  Marcoy,  author  of  a  very  interesting  "  Journey  in  South 
America,"  ^  has  given  us  a  very  unfavorable  account  of  the  Peru- 
vian missions.  "  The  catechumens,  who  were  overworked,  badly 
nourished,  and  heavily  flogged,  died  like  flies.  To  make  good  this 
deficit  and  to  keep  the  ranks  of  the  Christianized  Indians  full, 
the  Reverend  Fathers  of  Jesus  sent  an  armed  flotilla  of  monks 
and  soldiers  to  scour  the  banks  of  the  Amazon  and  the  missions 
founded  by  their  co-religionists  and  rivals  in  Brazil.  While  the 
monks  carried  off  the  neophytes,  the  soldiers  pillaged  and  de- 
stroyed the  empty,  and  henceforward  useless  houses.  Such  deeds 
were  not  at  all  extraordinary  in  newly  conquered  regions.  When 
the  campaign  was  over  the  naval  expedition  returned  singing 
hymns,  and  the  prisoners,  who  had  been  taken  in  the  name  of 
Christ,  were  divided  among  the  undermanned  villages.  Some- 
times they  were  taken  to  the  central  missions  of  Upper  and 
Lower  Huallaga,  where  they  waited,  like  goods  in  a  storehouse, 
until  the  demand  for  souls  (and  hands)  became  pressing  at  some 
point.  The  forcible  transportation  to  Peru  of  the  Oneaguas,  who 
were  at  the  time  settled  in  Brazil,  but  had  formerly  come  from 
Popayan  and  New  Granada  by  way  of  the  River  Sapura,  was  the 
result  of  one  of  these  raids.  Finally  Brazil  grew  weary  of  this 
apostolic  marauding  which  hastened  the  process  of  using  up  the 
natives  and  thereby  interfered  with  her  own  privileges,  and  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  fortifying  Yahuarate  and  thus  guarding  her  ter- 
4  "  Tour  du  Monde,"  1886. 


IS  SOl'TH     AMERICA 

1534-1810 

ritory.  A  j^arrlson  was  established  there  and  this  Gibraltar  in  little 
was  ordered  to  cannonade  every  flotilla  which  descended  the  river 
without  answering  the  sentinel's  challenge  and  the  priestly  com- 
mand. "  Advance,  friend,  and  give  the  countersign." 

From  an  early  date  the  Jesuits  had  cherished  the  idea  of  organ- 
izing a  new  community  in  America  to  bring  riches  and  strength  to 
their  order.  They  had  already  penetrated  to  Chili  and  the  banks  of 
the  Tucuman,  when  they  succeeded  in  founding  a  college  at 
Asuncion  in  Paraguay  toward  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Once  there,  they  quietly  and  patiently  awaited  a  favorable  moment 
for  carrying  out  their  designs.  The  struggle  between  governors  and 
bishops,  who  assumed  to  make  the  civil  power  entirely  subordinate 
to  themselves,  gave  the  Jesuits  the  expected  opportunity.  The  com- 
mandcry  system  helped  them.  Under  color  of  collecting  the  Indians 
f(jr  sucli  establishments,  in  1609,  they  laid  the  foundations,  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Parana,  of  that  theocratic  and  communistic  state, 
which  is  still  famous  under  the  name  of  the  Missions  or  Reductions 
of  Paraguay.  They  converted  the  Guaranis  in  a  mass,  enrolled 
them,  as  it  were,  transformed  them  into  agriculturists  and  excluded 
foreigners  from  the  country.  Thirty-two  villages  were  formed  and 
contained  forty  thousand  families.  These  wise  managers  of  men, 
at  once  apostolic  missionaries  and  temporal  administrators,  skillfully 
exploited  the  labor  of  the  natives,  who,  in  the  words  of  Schoell,^ 
"  knew  no  chiefs,  no  masters,  we  might  almost  say  no  God,  save 
the  Fathers." 

All  trade  was  in  their  hands.  They  established,  for  the  profit 
of  their  order,  a  monopoly  which  yielded  vast  returns.  Cretineau- 
Joly  says:"  "The  Jesuits  were  the  guardians  of  the  organized 
converts  on  the  Paraguay.  Because  of  the  incompetence  of  these 
savages  and  the  civilizing  influence  of  religion  upon  them,  many 
kings  of  Spain,  esi^ecially  Philip  V.  by  a  decree  of  December  28, 
1743.  renewing  and  confirming  earlier  decrees,  granted  to  the  mis- 
sionaries the  right  to  sell  the  produce  of  the 'lands  tilled  by  the 
neophytes  and  the  fruits  of  their  labors."  This  decree  of  1743  gives 
i)ut  a  faint  idea  of  the  administrative  methods  of  the  Jesuits  of 
Paraguay.  In  fact,  a  full  disclosure  of  their  business  was  vouch- 
safed to  nobody,  not  even  to  tlic  kings  of  Spain:  "  We  may  con- 
clude from  the  inf(jrmalion  that  was  given,  from  the  proceedings 

■'"  ('"iirs  d'hislnii-c-  <lrs  fltuts  cvrnpccns. 
"■'  Clnui-ut  Xll\  ct  h-s  Jrsuitcs." 


COLONIZATION  4») 

1534-1810 

of  conferences  and  otlier  scraps  of  evidence,  tliat,  because  of  the 
incapacity  and  laziness  of  these  In(h"ans  in  the  manag-ement  of  their 
property,  each  one  was  allotted  a  parcel  of  land  to  cultivate  for 
the  maintenance  of  his  family.  The  remaining-  lands  were  held 
in  common  and  the  yield  of  grain,  roots,  and  food  stuffs,  as  well 
as  of  g-rass  and  cattle,  was  divided  by  the  Indians,  under  the 
direction  of  the  priests,  into  three  portions:  the  first  for  the  royal 
tribute,  on  which  was  charged  the  salaries  of  the  priests;  the  sec- 
ond for  the  adornment  and  repair  of  the  churches;  the  third  for 
the  feeding  and  clothing  of  widows,  orphans,  invalids,  those  who 
were  employed  on  other  tasks,  and  for  other  needs,  for  hardly 
one  of  those  who  received  allotments  of  land  for  tillage  got  enough 
from  it  to  support  himself  throughout  the  year." 

The  neophytes  were  formed  into  armies,  drilled  in  the  Euro- 
pean fashion,  and  were  often  under  arms  to  resist  the  numerous 
enemies  of  the  Fathers.  The  profits  of  the  Jesuits  from  their 
establishments  were  certainly  very  great,  though  it  has  never  been 
possible  to  determine  the  amount  exactly.  They  were  adepts  in 
the  art  of  concealing  in  Europe  what  went  on  in  their  parishes. 
Each  village  was  surrounded  by  a  ditch  to  prevent  the  neophytes 
from  going  out  and  strangers  from  coming  in.  Governors,  and 
even  bishops,  were  denied  admittance.  All  trade  was  carried  on 
at  designated  places  on  the  boundary  of  each  mission,  and  the 
neophytes  had  no  part  in  it,  for  they  were  rigorously  kept  from 
all  intercourse  with  outsiders.  Royal  decrees  had  no  force  in  the 
dominions  of  these  able  potentates,  for  they  were  absolute  mas- 
ters there,  laughing  at  rules,  ordinances  and  decrees,  and,  on  occa- 
sions, hurling  their  troops  against  the  governors  themselves. 

On  January  2,  1767,  the  Jesuits  of  Paraguay  were  expelled 
from  the  Spanish  possessions,  as  they  had  been  from  those  of  the 
Portuguese  some  years  bef(^rc,  and  their  property  was  confiscated. 
The  territory  occupied  by  the  parishes  had  been  ceded  to  Portugal 
by  Spain  in  1750,  and  had  been  taken  over  by  Portugal  eleven  years 
later.  It  can  be  said  in  defense  of  tlie  Fathers  that,  in  recruiting 
for  their  missions  and  settling  wandering  tribes  in  their  villages, 
they  almost  always  avoided  the  use  of  force.  In  most  cases  they 
secured  their  converts  by  tact.  After  their  expulsion  little  attention 
was  paid  to  Paraguay.'  Spain,  with  her  usual  administrative  in- 
capacity, forgot  it. 

To  sum  up :  Oppression,  violence  and  the  lust  for  plunder  gave 


60  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1534-1810 

the  law  to  the  Spanish  colonies,  and  it  was  not  only  the  Indians  who 
found  the  yoke  too  heavy  to  be  borne ;  the  Indian  mixed  bloods  had 
no  less  cause  for  complaint,  and  even  among  full-blooded  Spaniards 
nobody  was  well  treated  but  officials  and  churchmen.  The  Spanish 
policy  was  to  grind  the  colonists  down  with  taxes,  heap  insults  upon 
them,  and  keep  them  in  ignorance.  As  the  saying  was :  "  The 
Creoles  should  have  no  education,  save  in  Christian  doctrine,  that 
they  may  be  kept  in  subjection."  In  the  province  of  Velez  (New 
Granada)  the  holders  of  fiefs  reduced  the  Indians  of  Tunebos  to 
such  misery  that  whole  families  threw  themselves  from  the  summit 
of  a  cliff  thirteen  hundred  feet  high  into  the  river.  The  tribes  of  the 
Agatoes  and  Cocomes  committed  suicide  in  a  body  in  one  night  to 
escape  from  their  tyrants.  Many  Indians  hanged  themselves  in 
despair,  to  avoid  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards  and  becom- 
ing slaves.  A  Spanish  intendant  went,  rope  in  hand,  to  the  place 
where  many  such  wretches  had  met  to  put  an  end  to  their  lives,  and 
threatened  to  hang  himself  with  them  if  they  persisted.  The  poor 
creatures  scattered  in  terror,  preferring  life  with  all  its  hardships  to 
the  companionship  of  one  of  their  tyrants  beyond  the  grave.  Whole 
tribes,  worn  out  at  last  by  so  many  infamies  and  cruelties,  revolted. 
The  inhabitants  of  Aconcahu,  in  the  province  of  Canas,  angered  by 
an  increase  in  the  tribute  of  gold  dust  which  they  were  forced  to  pay, 
seized  one  day  the  Spanish  collector  who  was  roughly  demanding 
payment  and  gave  him  molten  gold  to  drink,  "  para  saciar  de  este 
modo  la  scd  insaciable  del  rccandador"  (to  slake  by  this  method  the 
unquenchable  thirst  of  the  collector),  says  Florez,  who  reports  the 
fact  in  a  pamphlet,  "  Patriotismo  y  amos  a  la  lihertad."  After  this 
achievement  they  left  their  village  and  were  never  seen  again.  One 
night  in  December,  1767,  the  descendants  of  the  first  dwellers  in  the 
valleys  of  Caravaya,  the  Carangas  and  the  Suchimanis,  settled  ac- 
counts with  the  Spaniards  of  San  Gaban  for  a  usurpation  which  had 
lasted  two  centuries.  They  burned  the  town  and  slew  the  inhabitants 
with  arrows  and  clubs.  It  is  said  that  when  the  viceroy  Antonio 
Aniat  gut  news  of  it  he  swore  on  a  piece  of  the  true  cross  to  ex- 
termmate  all  the  savages  of  Peru  without  exception ;  but  the  actress 
Mariquita  Gallegas,  famous  for  her  nickname  of  Perichole,  for  her 
intimacy  with  the  viceroy  and  her  edifying  last  days  in  a  cloister, 
pleaded  their  cause,  showing  her  lover  that  the  duty  of  a  Christian 
and  a  viceroy  under  these  circumstances  was  to  endow  a  perpetual 
obit  for  the  victims  and  send  missionaries  to  teach  and  baptize  their 


COLONIZATION  51 

1534-1810 

persecutors.  The  lover  yielded,  it  seems,  to  the  reasoning  of  la 
Perichole. 

In  1780  the  patience  of  the  victims  was  exhausted.  The  vil- 
lainy and  greed  of  the  corregidors  had  reached  such  a  pitch  that,  by 
virtue  of  the  repartimiento,  they  forced  the  naked  and  beardless 
natives  to  buy  at  exorbitant  prices  all  kinds  of  useless  articles,  such 
as  razors  and  silk  stockings,  and  even  spectacles  and  maps.  One  day 
Condorquanqui,  cacique  of  Taugasuga,  seized  and  with  his  own 
hands  hanged  the  corregidor  of  Tinta,  who  in  one  year  had  imposed 
three  repartimientos  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
piastres  each.  This  cacique  was  a  descendant  from  the  Inca  Tupac- 
Amaru,  who  was  beheaded  by  the  Spaniards  in  1562,  and  is  still 
mourned  in  the  dirges  which  the  Indians  compose  for  their  public 
festivals.  The  cacique  assumed  the  name  of  his  ancestor  and  the 
costume  of  the  incas  and  gave  the  signal  for  revolt.  He  had  been 
carefully  educated  in  a  convent  at  Cuzco  and  was  respected  and 
esteemed  for  his  private  virtues,  but  he  made  the  mistake  of  not 
making  common  cause  with  the  Creoles,  who  were  also  outraged 
every  day  in  respect  of  their  most  sacred  rights.  He  treated  them 
as  enemies  and  they  turned  against  him.  The  Indians  flocked  to  his 
standard,  and  although  without  arms,  their  desperate  valor  won 
many  advantages  for  him,  and  all  Upper  Peru  was  aflame.  The 
struggle  lasted  a  year,  when  Tupac- Amaru  after  betrayal  by  another 
cacique  to  whom  the  Spaniards  had  promised  the  epaulettes  of  a 
colonel,  a  promise  never  kept  by  the  way,  was  captured  and  taken  to 
Cuzco.  He  was  tried  and  condemned  by  Jose  Antonio  de  Areche. 
This  scoundrel  pronounced  a  horrible  sentence,  worthy  of  the  most 
barbarous  ages,  which  was  executed  to  the  letter.  The  wife  of  the 
cacique,  his  two  sons  and  his  brother-in-law,  Bastidas,  were  put  to 
death  before  his  eyes ;  the  executioner  then  cut  out  his  tongue,  his 
limbs  were  bound  and  he  was  torn  in  pieces  by  four  horses.  His 
body  was  burned  and  his  head,  legs  and  arms  sent  to  the  rebel  vil- 
lages. His  house  was  burned;  his  property  was  confiscated;  his 
family  was  declared  infamous  forever;  one  of  his  brothers  was  sent 
to  Spain  and  kept  in  prison  for  twenty  years.  It  was  thought  that 
this  punishment  would  terrify  the  Indians,  but  it  only  aroused  their 
hate. 

With  the  fury  that  marks  every  degraded  people  which  rises 
against  their  oppressors,  they  exacted  a  terrible  retribution.  On 
hearing  of  the  atrocities  of  Cuzco,  many  who  had  until  then  re- 


r.a  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R I C  A 

♦^-^  o  w  vj   J.  X  1534-1810 

mained  neutral  hastened  to  join  the  insurgents,  who  were  united 
under  the  command  of  Andres,  a  nephew  of  Tupac-Amaru,  and  of 
another  chief,  Catari,  and  who  fought  with  the  fury  of  despair.  It  is 
said  that  each  victim  sacrificed  at  Cuzco  cost  five  hundred  Spanish 
heads.  Andres  laid  siege  to  Sorata,  where  the  families  of  the  sur- 
rounding country  had  taken  refuge  with  their  wealth.  The  fortifi- 
cations and  artillery  of  the  defenders  were  an  almost  insuperable 
obstacle  to  besiegers  without  firearms,  but  Andres  built  a  dam  and 
collected  the  waters  from  the  melting  snows  of  the  neighboring 
mountains  in  a  great  reservoir,  and  thus  sent  a  great  flood  against 
the  town,  which  carried  away  the  walls  and  opened  a  wide  breach 
to  the  Indians.  Sorata  had  about  twenty  thousand  inhabitants. 
Only  one,  and  he  a  priest,  was  spared.  The  rebels  avenged  their 
cacique  by  cruelties  which  recalled  those  of  the  Judge  de  Areche. 
The  rebellion  came  to  an  end  with  the  death  of  the  principal  chiefs, 
who  were  betrayed  for  money  by  their  own  servants,  and  tyranny 
was  exercised  without  restraint,  as  before.  Nevertheless,  all  the 
bloodshed  had  not  been  in  vain.  The  repartimiento  was  abolished. 
The  Creoles,  on  their  part,  endured  the  government  to  which  they 
were  subject  with  no  less  impatience.  They  were  weary  of  perse- 
cution and  of  seeing  the  interests  of  their  country  sacrificed  to  the 
greed  of  Spain,  and  had  vague  schemes  of  emancipation.  About 
the  time  when  their  Indian  brothers  were  striving  to  free  them- 
selves, Socorro,  a  province  of  New  Granada,  rebelled  because  of 
certain  vexatious  taxes.  The  patriots  advanced  to  the  very  walls 
of  Bogota,  their  banner  inscribed  with  the  words,  "  Long  live  the 
King ;  death  to  wicked  governors."  The  archbishop,  clothed  in  his 
pontifical  robes  and  bearing  the  holy  sacrament,  intervened  and 
quieted  the  movement.  But  some  time  after  Socorro  was  decimated 
and  the  greater  part  of  its  inhabitants  were  sent  to  the  unwholesome 
regions  of  the  coast  and  died  there. 

Nevertheless  some  reforms  were  tried.  It  was  too  late.  The 
foundations  of  the  murderous  domination  of  three  centuries  were 
shaken.  The  revolution  in  the  United  States  had  given  them  a  new 
shock  and  the  French  Revolution  completed  the  ruin.  The  [French] 
"  Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  Men,"  secretly  printed  in  Bogota  and 
furtively  read,  inflamed  all  hearts  and  gave  birth  to  an  earnest  desire 
for  independence.  The  government  struck  blindly  on  all  sides,  and 
this^  painful  childhood  of  liberty  had  its  martyrs  and  its  heroes. 
Bolivar,  still  young  and  entirely  unknown,  was  then  traveling  in 


COLONIZATION  53 

1810 

Italy,  and  on  the  Sacred  Mount  took  oath  to  deliver  his  country 
from  foreign  domination.  He  kept  his  word.  The  people,  a  mix- 
ture of  so  many  elements,  was  ready  to  shed  its  blood.  Lawyers, 
small  landholders,  the  lower  ranks  of  the  clergy,  the  young  soldiers 
among  the  natives,  shared  the  passion  for  liberty.  When  Spain 
went  down  in  defeat  the  hour  of  separation  had  come.  By  their 
mistakes  and  crimes,  the  kings  of  Spain  had  themselves  made  ready 
for  it. 


Chapter    IV 

INDEPENDENCE— THE    CREATION    OF    NEW 
NATIONS.     1 808-1 826 

THE  emancipation  of  the  South  American  colonies  from  the 
rule  of  their  respective  mother  countries  forms  the  third 
period  of  their  history,  which  opens  for  the  Spanish  pos- 
sessions by  the  events  at  Caracas  and  Buenos  Ay  res  in  1810,  and  for 
the  Portuguese,  by  the  declaration  of  the  independence  of  Brazil  and 
its  transformation  into  a  constitutional  empire  in  1822. 

We  have  seen  the  state  of  public  opinion  in  the  colonies  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  Spain  might  still  have  prevented  the  catas- 
trophe, but  her  blindness  knew  no  limits.  She  continued  to  trample 
upon  every  interest  and  to  break  every  pledge.  It  was  ordained  that 
she  should  remain,  to  the  last,  deaf  to  all  warnings,  that  everything 
in  her  insane  conduct  should  make  the  coming  rebellion  inevitable 
and  justify  it  at  the  bar  of  history.    The  rising  was  unanimous. 

The  revolution  of  Aranjuez  was  the  decisive  event  in  this  move- 
ment. On  March  18,  1808,  the  Spanish  people  had  dethroned  the 
weak  Charles  IV.,  who  had  allowed  the  queen  to  place  all  public 
business  in  the  hands  of  her  lover  Godoy,  and  had  given  himself 
over  to  the  pleasures  of  hunting  and  the  care  of  his  stables.  Fer- 
dinand VII.,  the  wicked  and  vile  son  of  this  guilty  mother  and 
imbecile  father,  was  placed  on  the  throne;  and  shameful  quarrels 
broke  out  among  these  Bourbons,  whom  Xapoleon  degraded  at 
pleasure.  The  imprisonment  of  this  unhappy  family  at  Valengay; 
the  renunciation  of  their  rights  in  consideration  of  annuities  and 
pensions;  the  imposition  of  the  Napoleonic  dynasty;  the  French  in- 
vasion ;  the  wicked  and  stupid  colonial  policy  of  the  different  polit- 
ical parties  which  were  struggling  for  power;  all  united  to  bring 
on  the  rupture  and  gave  South  Americans  cause  to  think  that  insur- 
rection was  a  sacred  duty.  The  worst  misfortune  of  oppressed 
peoples  is  content  with  servitude.  They  knew  how  to  escape  that 
fate.  They  would  no  longer  share  the  lot  of  conquered  Spain,  that 
stepmother  who,  even  in  defeat,  continued  to  subject  America  to 

54 


INDEPENDENCE  65 

1809-1810 

her  caprices.  Moreover,  who  was  Spain?  The  resolutions  and 
proclamations  of  all  the  contending  factions  reached  America  to- 
gether ;  some  from  Charles  IV. ;  others  from  Ferdinand  VII. ;  others 
from  the  upstart  usurper,  Joseph.  Besides  these  there  were  many- 
declarations  of  juntas:  the  Junta  of  Cadiz;  the  Junta  of  Seville; 
the  Junta  of  Asturias;  and  others;  all  claiming  to  be  legiti- 
mate and  demanding  obedience;  not  to  mention  the  Council  of 
Regency.  This  was  anarchy.  Now  that  the  tyrant  was  weakened 
at  every  point  his  victim  saw  a  ray  of  hope. 

So  in  1809,  Quito,  "  the  first-born  of  independence,"  rose  for 
freedom.  The  movement  was  suppressed  and  two  patriots  forfeited 
their  lives  in  the  cause ;  but  the  attempt  was  repeated  in  the  follow- 
ing year  (August  2)  and  was  this  time  successful. 

One  might  suppose  that  the  mother  country  at  this  time  would 
wish  to  remove  every  cause  of  complaint  from  the  colonies.  She 
had  received  from  them  in  1808  and  1809  subsidies  and  gifts  of  con- 
siderable value,  and  doubtless  she  agreed  to  reward  this  fidelity 
in  misfortune  by  wholesome  reforms.  A  royal  decree  of  January 
22,  1809,  had  gone  so  far  as  to  declare  the  Spanish-American 
provinces  integral  parts  of  the  monarchy  with  rights  equal  to  those 
of  the  peninsular  provinces,  but  this  was  only  a  bait.  The  following 
year,  the  Junta  of  Seville  said,  in  an  address  to  the  Spanish-Amer- 
icans :  "  At  last  you  are  raised  to  the  dignity  of  free  men.  The 
time  is  past  when  you  were  bent  under  an  unbearable  yoke  and  the 
victims  of  absolutism,  avarice  and  ignorance.  In  electing  your  rep- 
resentatives in  the  national  congress  remember  that  your  destiny  is 
no  longer  dependent  on  kings,  viceroys  and  governors,  but  is  in 
your  own  hands."  This  high-sounding  denunciation  of  the  manner 
in  which  Spain  had  governed  her  colonies  resulted  in  a  decree  re- 
stricting the  number  of  representatives  to  one  for  each  principal 
town;  and  even  the  one  was  to  be  drawn  by  lot  from  a  list  of 
three  names  chosen  by  the  municipal  councils  in  such  manner  as 
the  viceroys  might  be  pleased  to  prescribe. 

The  Central  Junta  had  proclaimed  free  trade  by  the  ordinance 
of  1809;  but  the  ordinanace  was  almost  immediately  repealed  by  the 
Regency  of  Cadiz,  which  took  the  place  of  the  Central  Junta.  This 
rash  action  bore  fruit  quickly,  for  as  soon  as  it  was  known  at  Caracas 
the  storm  burst.  In  this  captaincy  the  principles  of  the  French 
Revolution  had  won  more  adherents  than  in  any  other  colony.  The 
municipal  council  grasped  the  reins  of  power,  declared  itself  the 


66 


SOUTH     AMERICA 


1810 

Supreme  Junta  of  g-overnment  (April  19,  1810)  and,  though  it 
recognized  Ferdinand  VII.,  refused  to  obey  the  regency  or  respect 
its  decrees.  About  this  time  agents  sent  from  Europe  to  demand  an 
oath  of  allegiance  to  Joseph,  were  greeted  with  the  cry  "  Long  live 
Ferdinand."  The  country  was  unanimously  opposed  to  Napoleon, 
the  joscphinos  (adherents  of  Joseph)  and  the  afrancesados  (France- 


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kners)  \Vhen  a  rumor  spread  that  French  troops  threatened  New 
^.ranada  the  provmce  of  Cundinamarca  was  put  under  arms  (July) 
ine  viceroy  was  accused  of  wishing  to  sell  America  to  Napoleon 
and  was  sent  off  to  Cartagena.  This  town  had  risen  some  time 
n  w^;;'''  '''  ■''''  ^^^  Provinces  of  Pamplona  and  Socorro.  In  the 
north  the  provmces  of  Tunja,  Casanare,  Antioquia,  Choco,  Neiva 


INDEPENDENCE  57 

1810 

and  Mariquita  rose  all  at  once  while  Quito  was  making  the  second 
attempt  spoken  of  above.  The  viceroyalty  of  New  Granada  had  dis- 
appeared before  the  end  of  1810,  Each  provincial  capital  wanted 
to  have  its  own  junta  independent  of  all  other  juntas.  Now  united 
action  was  indispensable  to  ultimate  triumph,  and  the  junta  formed 
at  Bogota  recognized  Ferdinand  VII.  as  king  and  invited  Caracas 
to  do  the  same  and  make  common  cause  with  it.  Caracas  declared 
that  the  representatives  of  the  provinces  of  Venezuela  ought  to  be 
instructed  to  organize  a  free  government.  Accordingly  the  congress 
of  Caracas,  made  up  of  deputies  from  the  provinces  of  Caracas, 
Varinas,  Barcelona,  Cumana,  Margarita,  Trujillo  and  Merida, 
which  had  separated  from  Maracaibo,  proclaimed  (July  5,  181 1) 
the  independence  of  Venezuela,  and  organized  a  republic. 

Similar  occurrences  happened  at  many  other  places  in  America. 
Buenos  Ayres  and  Montevideo  had  been  blockaded  by  an  English 
squadron  from  1804  till  1807,  for  Spain  was  then  at  war  with 
England.  Jacques  de  Liniers,  a  Frenchman  in  the  Spanish  service, 
had  organized  the  brave  Creoles  and  driven  off  the  invaders.  The 
new-made  soldiers,  proud  of  their  victory,  were  petted  and  flattered 
by  those  who  had  begun  to  conspire  against  the  Spanish  domination, 
including  such  men  as  Moreno,  Castelli,  Belgrano,  Bulcarce,  all 
eager  readers  of  the  revolutionary  literature  from  the  United  States 
and  France,  which  had  been  brought  in  during  the  English  occupa- 
tion. Thus  the  army  of  the  revolution  was  ready  made.  At  Buenos 
Ayres  the  uprising  was  carefully  prepared.  An  assembly  of  six  hun- 
dred notables  deposed  the  viceroy  Cisneros  (May,  18 10).  Castelli 
and  Belgrano  led  the  patriot  movement.  The  royalists  were  re- 
peatedly defeated  in  spite  of  assistance  obtained  from  Portugal, 
through  the  influence  of  the  queen,  the  wife  of  John  IV.,  and  the 
dispatch  of  an  army  corps  to  their  aid  by  the  viceroy  of  Peru.  The 
struggle  was  short-lived.  The  Spanish  leaders  were  abandoned  by 
their  troops  and  captured.  For  a  time  Montevideo  was  a  rallying 
point  and  headquarters  for  the  royalists,  but  juntas  were  organized 
in  Paraguay  and  in  all  the  provinces  of  La  Plata.  Chili  also  rose 
successfully  in  18 10.  In  that  country  the  patriots  had  very  few 
muskets.  Many  bodies  of  troops  were  armed  with  ox-yokes,  and 
for  artillery  wooden  cannon  were  made  which  burst  at  the  fourth 
discharge.    Victory  under  such  conditions  proves  the  magic  power 

of  liberty. 

Lower  Peru  remained  submissive  and  gave  the  Spaniards  an 


68  SOUTH     AMERICA 


1810 


effective  base  for  resistance,  but  Upper  Peru  struggled  desperately. 
The  revolution  broke  out  first  in  Charcas  and  then  in  La  Paz,  in 
May,  1809.  A  small  army,  sent  from  Buenos  Ayres  the  next  year, 
became  the  nucleus  of  a  numerous  patriot  force,  and  Castelli  and 
Belgrano  entered  Potosi  in  triumph.  The  royalist  government  at 
Lima  had  to  contend  with  the  partisans  of  independence  in  Quito, 
Upper  Peru  and  Chili,  and  its  scattered  forces  were  worn  out,  even 
when  victorious.  On  the  other  hand,  the  revolution  was  not  re- 
ceived with  equal  enthusiasm  by  all  classes,  especially  in  the  beauti- 
ful, idle  and  luxurious  city  of  Lima.  The  Castilian  nobles,  official 
families,  and  high  dignitaries  of  the  church  opposed  it;  the  lower 
ranks  of  the  clergy  everywhere  favored  it.  "  They  were  especially 
disaffected ;  not  one  seemed  to  be  attached  to  the  royal  government."^ 
The  youth  of  the  upper  classes  were  in  many  places  invaluable 
allies  of  the  revolution.  Moved  by  a  lofty  patriotism,  they  cheer- 
fully submitted  to  conscription  where  it  was  in  force,  as  in  Ven- 
ezuela, while  men  of  the  lower  classes  had  to  be  dragged  to  the 
army  in  chains.  The  negroes  and  Indians  had  been  brutalized  by 
slavery  and  schooled  to  obedience  and  they  allowed  themselves  to 
be  thus  forced  to  serve  indifferently  for  or  against  the  cause  which 
was  to  make  them  free  men.  In  several  places,  Buenos  Ayres  for 
example,  certain  tribes  took  advantage  of  the  struggle  to  renew  their 
inroads,  and  carried  on  terrible  raids.  Thus  the  war  of  independ- 
ence went  on  with  alternations  of  success  and  failure  in  every 
quarter.  If  Spain,  just  at  this  time,  had  produced  a  man  of  suf- 
ficiently clear  judgment  to  discern  the  inevitable  course  of  events,  to 
submit  to  necessary  losses,  and  definitely  concede  to  the  revolution- 
ists the  territory  actually  held  by  them,  he  might  by  equitable  re- 
forms have  kept  the  allegiance  of  the  vast  and  rich  countries  which 
had  not  yet  revolted.  Like  every  great  social  agitation,  this  revolu- 
tion threw  up  extraordinary  men.  The  greatest  and  most  illustrious 
was  Simon  Bolivar,  the  hero  of  South  America.  In  him  was  per- 
sonified that  gigantic  struggle  of  the  oppressed  against  the  oppres- 
sors, which  was  to  last  fifteen  years.  His  country  granted  him  the 
title  of  "Liberator"  (d  Libcrador),  and  one  of  the  states  which 
owed  its  independence  to  him  took  his  name. 

Simon   Bolivar  was  born   in  Caracas  in    1785;  he   was  the 

1  Letter  of  Morillo  to  his  government,  among  papers  seized  by  a  privateer 
of  Ruenos  Ayres  on  board  the  ship  Leona,  and  reproduced  in  "  Lcs  revolutions 
dc  lAmeriquc  Espagnolc,  par  un  citoycn  de  I'Amerique  Espagnole."  Paris,  1819, 
2a  ed. 


INDEPENDENCE  59 

1810-1812 

youngest  of  the  four  children  of  Juan  Vicente  Bolivar  y  Ponte. 
colonel  of  the  militia  of  the  plains  of  Aragua,  a  rich  and  respected 
man.  Simon  was  an  orphan  at  the  age  of  six  years  and  inherited 
a  fortune  yielding  forty  thousand  dollars  a  year.  He  was  sent 
while  still  a  youth,  to  Madrid  to  finish  his  education  in  the  fam- 
ily of  his  uncle,  the  Marquis  de  Palacios.  At  the  age  of  seven- 
teen he  asked  the  hand  of  the  Lady  Teresa,  his  cousin,  daughter  of 
the  Marquis  de  Toro.  He  was  sent  away  for  travel  and  visited 
Paris,  but  soon  returned  to  Spain.  He  was  only  eighteen  when  he 
married  and  brought  his  young  bride  to  Caracas,  but  had  the  mis- 
fortune to  lose  her  within  five  months  after  their  arrival,  by 
a  violent  attack  of  yellow  fever.  Her  loss  was  a  great  affliction 
to  him.  In  1803  he  again  sailed  for  Europe,  revisited  France  in 
1804,  and  did  not  come  back  to  his  native  country  until  1809,  pass- 
ing on  his  return  through  the  United  States.  After  having  taken 
part,  at  Paris  and  Milan,  in  the  apotheosis  of  Napoleon  as  emperor 
and  king,  he  found  himself  in  the  midst  of  an  energetic  people  which 
had  freed  itself  by  its  own  initiative.  In  France  he  had  let  fall 
bitter  words  which  excited  the  suspicion  of  the  imperial  police ;  and 
in  the  United  States  he  was  filled  with  admiration  for  the  just  and 
great  Washington. 

The  revolution  found  him  upon  his  estates  in  Aragua.  He 
offered  his  services,  and  was  sent  to  England  with  Luis  Lopez  y 
Mendez  to  solicit  her  protection.  The  two  envoys  were  received 
very  coolly,  because  the  English  Government,  making  common  cause 
with  the  Spanish  Cortes  against  the  French  domination,  refused  to 
support  a  movement  hostile  to  Spain. 

Bolivar  returned  to  America,  bringing  a  small  quantity  of  arms 
and  accompanied  by  General  Miranda,  an  old  and  valiant  soldier, 
also  a  native  of  Caracas,  who,  for  conspiring  to  give  liberty  to  his 
country,  had  been  expatriated,  and  had  been  going  about  the  world 
for  five  and  twenty  years  in  search  of  allies  for  the  American  cause. 
Miranda  had  served  France  in  the  armies  of  the  Republic;  and 
weary  of  delay  he  had  in  1806  organized  a  small  expedition  from 
his  own  resources  and  those  of  his  friends.  He  landed  at  Ocumare, 
and  afterward  at  Coro,  but  was  forced  to  reembark  in  haste  by  the 
ill  reception  that  his  compatriots  gave  him  on  that  occasion.  He 
now  returned  an  old  man,  but  with  spirit  unbroken,  to  place  his 
sixty  years  at  the  service  of  his  country,  and  was  made  commander- 
in-chief. 


60  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

"  1812-1813 

The  Spaniards  had  regained  control.  An  earthquake  which 
destroyed  nine-tenths  of  the  houses  in  Caracas  on  Holy  Thursday, 
1812,  terrified  the  people,  and  it  was  used  as  a  means  for  re- 
storing tyranny  in  tlie  name  of  Heaven.  Monteverde,  a  sea  captain, 
a  man  of  rough  manners  and  great  severity,  was  made  leader  of  the 
royalists,  succeeded  in  recovering  Venezuela,  and  obliged  Miranda 
to  capitulate.  The  country  again  fell  under  the  domination  of 
Spain.  Miranda  had  obtained  a  promise  of  an  amnesty  in  favor  of 
the  patriots,  but  the  promise  was  not  kept,  and  the  unfortunate  old 
man  was  the  first  victim  of  the  reactionary  rule  that  followed. 
Monteverde  sent  him  to  die  in  the  dungeons  of  Cadiz.  It  is  painful 
to  record  that  among  his  enemies  was  Bolivar,  who  bore  him  a 
grudge  for  theoretic  pedantry,  irresolution  and  failure,  and  possibly 
for  rumored  intrigues  with  England  which  Bolivar  may  have  ac- 
cepted as  true.  At  any  rate,  Bolivar's  conduct  in  this  matter  was 
deplorable.  Monteverde  succeeded  in  spreading  terror  through  the 
province;  and  when  the  prisons  were  full  he  gave  the  signal  for 
vengeance.  Murder  and  brigandage  were  forthwith  erected  into  a 
political  system.  The  country  was  filled  with  unfortunate  wretches 
cast  out  of  the  city  after  having  had  their  noses  or  cheeks  slit, 
their  ears  cropped,  or  their  nails  torn  out  by  the  roots.  The  cause 
of  independence  seemed  lost  in  Venezuela,  and  was  in  hardly  better 
case  in  Xew  Granada. 

Chili  was  also  weakened.  At  Quito  the  reaction  was  in  control 
until  the  brave  Marifio  should  come  at  the  head  of  a  new  expedition, 
destined  to  wrest  that  country  again  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Span- 
iards. By  good  fortune  La  Plata  was  now  completely  emancipated, 
and  the  armies  of  Artiga  and  Lopez  held  the  Spaniards  in  check  on 
the  frontiers  of  Chili  and  Peru.  Here  the  cause  of  Spain  was  lost 
forever. 

Bolivar  had  taken  refuge  in  Curaqao  with  his  cousin,  Felix 
Ribas.  where  he  collected  all  the  refugees  and  led  them  to  Cartagena. 
His  project  was  to  use  the  resources  of  this  province,  which  re- 
mained free,  to  liberate  Venezuela  and  save  New  Granada  at  one 
and  tlie  same  time.  The  congress  of  Cartagena  adopted  it  with 
enthusiasm.  President  Torrices  furnished  him  with  money,  arms, 
sui)pHcs,  and  a  force  of  five  hundred  men  under  Manuel  Castillo. 
Bolivar  led  his  three  hundred  Venezuelans  and  Ribas  was  second  in 
command.  The  Httlc  army  left  Cartagena  in  January,  181 3,  but 
soon  Castillo  wanted  to  march  on  his  own  account  toward  the  east, 


INDEPENDENCE  61 

1813 

while  Bolivar  received  orders  from  Cone^ress  to  carry  and  hold 
Barancas,  a  town  on  the  banks  of  the  Ma.c^dalena.  Bolivar  did  not 
know  how  to  remain  inactive,  and  disobeyed  these  orders,  promising 
himself  to  obtain  pardon  for  this  fault  by  a  glorious  success. 

He  first  seized  Tenerife,  a  town  situated  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Magdalena,  then  Mompox,  and  lastly  Ocana,  dividing,  beating 
and  dispersing  the  enemy.  His  invasion  of  Venezuela  freed  New 
Granada,  and  the  cruelties  of  Monteverde  now  proved  to  be  the 
salvation  of  the  revolutionary  cause  in  the  former  territory,  for  they 
drove  the  moderates  into  the  patriot  camp.  Recruits  poured  in 
from  all  sides  and  Bolivar  had  two  thousand  men  when  he  pene- 
trated the  Andes  near  Pamplona.  After  he  had  effected  his  junction 
with  Ribas  on  Venezuelan  soil  many  thousands  of  volunteers  flocked 
to  his  standard.  Ribas  brought  in  six  hundred  men  from  New 
Granada,  sent  by  the  Congress  of  Tunja,  and  at  the  same  time 
Colonel  Briceno,  who  had  been  sent  with  a  separate  force  toward 
Guadalito,  arrived  with  a  body  of  cavalry.  Without  loss  of  time 
Bolivar  attacked  the  royalists  at  La  Grita  and  afterward  at  Merida, 
making  himself  master  of  the  district  of  this  name;  with  equal 
promptness  he  occupied  the  province  of  Varinas.  In  the  meantime 
Marino,  a  young  student  who  had  reached  the  highest  military 
rank  and  was  considered  one  of  the  pillars  of  the  revolution, 
defeated  Monteverde,  made  himself  master  of  the  provinces  of  Cu- 
mana  and  Barcelona,  and  took  the  title  of  general-in-chief  and  dic- 
tator of  the  eastern  provinces  of  Venezuela.  Favored  by  this  diver- 
sion, although  it  was  opposed  to  his  views  of  unity,  Bolivar  divided 
his  arm.y  into  two  parts ;  taking  command  of  one,  he  placed  Ribas  in 
command  of  the  other,  and  pursuing  the  Spaniards  closely,  crushed 
Monteverde  and  marched  on  Caracas.  In  August,  1813,  he  entered 
the  capital  in  a  triumphal  chariot  drawn  by  twelve  young  women, 
amid  the  wildest  enthusiasm,  and  was  saluted  by  the  title  of  "  The 
Liberator."  In  a  few  months  he  had  marched  375  miles  and 
fought  fifteen  battles,  besides  numerous  smaller  actions.  His  glory 
would  have  been  complete  if,  in  this  memorable  campaign,  he  had 
not  retaliated  by  sanguinary  executions  for  the  horrible  cruelties 
of  Monteverde.  To  be  sure,  the  Spaniards  had  declared  that  not 
one  of  the  patriot  rabble  ought  to  be  suffered  to  live,  and  had 
actually  killed  women  and  children  lest  they  should  act  as  spies. 

The  liberation  of  Venezuela  appeared  to  be  complete.  Bolivar 
occupied  almost  half  of  the  captaincy-general  and  Marino  the  rest. 


62  SOUTH     AMERICA 


1813-1814 


The  Spaniards  held  only  a  few  unimportant  points,  and  Monteverde 
was  blockaded  in  Puerto  Cabello.  There  seemed  to  be  no  reason 
to  expect  a  turn  of  fortune. 

Bolivar  had  taken  the  title  of  dictator  of  the  western  prov- 
inces of  Venezuela,  and  was  in  no  haste  to  reestablish  the  civil 
government ;  but  the  echoes  of  public  opinion  convinced  him  of  his 
error,  and  he  convoked  an  assembly.  To  it  he  gave  an  account  of 
his  operations  and  plans,  and  tendered  his  resignation.  This  was 
not  accepted  and  his  dictatorship  was  continued  until  Venezuela 
should  be  able  to  unite  with  New  Granada. 

The  royalists  had  not  lost  all  hope,  and  now  armed  the  slaves, 
promising  them  liberty.  At  the  head  of  these  bloodthirsty  brutes 
the  ferocious  Puy  won  distinction.  He  seized  Varinas  and  shot 
five  hundred  patriots  there.  Puy  was  lieutenant  of  Boves,  the  most 
dreaded  of  the  adversaries  of  Bolivar.  This  Boves  was  a  Cas- 
tilian  by  birth,  had  been  successively  sailor,  coastguard,  and  peddler, 
and  had  been  imprisoned  for  his  crimes.  He  enlisted  in  the  royalist 
ranks  without  much  knowledge  of  the  issue  or  intelligible  motive, 
and  held  the  rank  of  captain  of  militia  at  the  time  of  the  defeat 
of  the  Spaniards.  He  appealed  to  the  idlers,  the  fugitives  from  jus- 
tice, the  negroes  and  the  mulattoes,  and  with  these  organized  a  body 
of  troops  wliich,  from  their  ferocity,  deserved  their  name  of  "  The 
Infernal  Legion."  In  its  ranks  were  many  llaneros  (barbarians  from 
the  plains,  herdsmen,  and  butchers).  They  were  accustomed  to  tame 
the  most  vicious  horses,  lived  in  the  saddle,  and  were  unrivaled  as 
cavalrymen.  These  men  of  the  plains  despised  the  mountaineer 
who  lowered  himself  by  going  on  foot,  as  well  as  the  European, 
who  was  wearied  by  a  gallop  continued  for  sixteen  hours.  They 
ride  bareback  and  have  no  other  dress  than  a  sort  of  short  breeches. 
Stretched  out  over  their  horses,  with  lance  in  rest  and  whirling  lasso, 
they  fall  upon  the  enemy,  suq^rising  and  overwhelming  him  with 
the  rapidity  of  lightning.  No  regular  cavalry  can  resist  the  onset 
of  these  Cossacks  of  the  Colombian  steppes,  who  always  leave  be- 
hind them  such  terrible  traces.  The  cupidity  of  these  nomads  had 
been  excited  by  the  promise  to  distribute  the  lands  of  the  con- 
c|ucred  among  them,  and  Boves's  force  soon  amounted  to  eight 
thousand  men.  Their  detested  intervention  occasioned  reprisals 
and  twelve  hundred  prisoners  were  slaughtered  in  one  day.  The 
war  was  henceforth  waged  with  frenzied  cruelty,  each  side  striving 
to  outdo  the  atrocities  of  the  other. 


IXANEROS  OF  THE  APURE  PLAIN    IN   VENEZUELA   SALTIN^-.   WILD    MfLES. 
m-RING   WHICH   OPERATION    THEY   CUT   OUT  THE   MOST   SUIT- 
ABLE  ANIMALS    WITH   THEIR   LASSOS 

Drawing   by    A.    Richfcr 


INDEPENDENCE  63 

1814 

The  energy  of  Boves  was  more  than  once  paralyzed  by  the 
apathy  of  the  Spanish  generals,  and  Bolivar  succeeded  in  defeating 
him  several  times  in  succession,  as  well  as  his  lieutenants,  the  mu- 
latto Roseta  and  the  guerrilla  chief  Yanez.  The  dictator  had  the 
imprudence  to  risk  himself  on  the  vast  plains,  where  he  was  sur- 
prised by  the  cavalry  of  Boves.  Bolivar's  whole  force  was  crushed 
at  La  Puerta  on  June  14.  Marino,  beaten  almost  at  the  same  time, 
was  driven  back  into  Cumana.  The  conqueror  entered  Caracas 
so  quickly  that  the  dictator  had  only  sufficient  time  to  get  on  board 
a  ship,  thus  trusting  the  safety  of  the  republic  to  the  mercy  of  the 
elements.  Ribas  rallied  the  patriots  and  managed  to  keep  the 
field.  Boves  finally  defeated  him  at  Uriqua,  but  the  victor  received 
a  spear  wound  during  the  battle  and  died  on  the  field.  His  ferocious 
soldiers  paid  him  suitable  funeral  honors  by  an  indiscriminate 
slaughter  of  women,  children  and  old  men.  Ribas  was  captured  and 
shot  and  his  head  was  sent  to  Caracas  to  be  publicly  exposed  (De- 
cember, 1 8 14). 

Bolivar  had  been  able  to  reach  Cartagena,  which,  with  the  prov- 
ince of  Santa  Marta,  had  been  formed  into  a  separate  republic 
with  Torrices  as  president.  New  Granada  was  very  much  di- 
vided. It  will  be  remembered  that  a  provisional  junta  had  been 
established  in  Bogota  since  July,  18 10.  The  provincial  deputies 
assembled  in  congress  had  drawn  up  a  federal  constitution,  which 
had  not  been  approved  by  all  the  provinces,  the  dissidents  electing 
a  junta  called  the  Junta  of  Cundinamarca.  In  181 2  this  assembly 
published  its  plan  of  a  constitution,  which  was  no  better  received 
than  the  other.  Anarchy  reigned  supreme.  A  third  congress 
assembled  in  Tunja  on  September  10,  1814,  and  Bolivar  offered 
his  services.  He  was  ordered  to  march  against  Bogota  and  its 
dictator,  Alvarez,  and  he  obtained  a  formal  promise  that  the  dis- 
sident provinces  would  join  the  confederation,  provided  that  the 
old  capital  should  be  the  seat  of  government.  The  Congress, 
once  installed  in  Bogota,  immediately  set  about  preparing  means 
to  repulse  the  Spanish  force  which  was  expected  to  appear  very 
shortly.  Napoleon  had  fallen;  Ferdinand  VII.  had  returned  to 
Madrid ;  and  very  soon  news  arrived  that  he  was  sending  a  squad- 
ron, with  10,642  men  under  the  command  of  Morillo,  to  succor 
the  royalists.  The  speedy  arrival  of  this  important  reinforcement 
had  been  communicated  to  all  the  viceroys.  The  Madrid  govern- 
ment hoped  that  the  mere  announcement  would  terrify  the  rebels 


64.  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1814-1815 

and  force  them  to  submit  in  a  body.  This  was  reckoning  too  much 
on  the  prestige  of  the  Spanish  arms,  which  were  already  known 
not  to  be  invincible.  Moreover  these  events  coincided  with  the 
capitulation  of  Montevideo,  the  last  refuge  of  the  mother  country 
in  the  old  viceroyalty  of  Buenos  Ay  res,  which  was  from  that 
moment  transformed  into  an  independent  state.  The  new  re- 
public had  formed  a  squadron  and  the  seamen  of  La  Plata  had 
beaten  the  Spanish  fleet.  By  the  surrender  of  Montevideo  and 
its  garrison  of  5500  men  Spain  lost  her  last  foothold  on  the  eastern 
coast.  This  misfortune  had  been  partly  counterbalanced  by  suc- 
cesses in  Chili,  which,  in  1814,  had  again  fallen  under  the  yoke 
of  the  Spaniards,  and  been  given  over  to  all  the  horrors  of  merciless 
repression,  though  the  guerrilla  chief,  Rodriguez,  constantly  har- 
assed the  royalists  and  kept  the  patriot  cause  alive.  In  Peru  the 
provinces  of  Cuzco,  Huamanga,  and  Arequipa,  which  had  hitherto 
continued  tranquil,  declared  for  the  cause  of  independence  under 
the  influence  of  Belgrano  and  the  government  of  Buenos  Ayies. 
r:ven  Lima  was  held  by  the  royalists  with  great  difficulty. 

The  patriot  leaders  in  Xew  Granada  and  Venezuela  had  united. 
Castillo,  Cabal,  and  Urdaneta  acted  for  New  Granada;  Bolivar 
and  Marino  for  Venezuela.  Troops  were  sent  to  the  south  to  check 
the  government  of  Quito,  and  in  the  east  Urdaneta  was  charged  to 
restrain  the  devastating  incursions  of  Puy.  Bolivar,  appointed  cap- 
tain general  of  Xew  Granada  and  Venezuela,  descended  through  the 
province  of  Magdalena  at  the  head  of  three  thousand  men,  surprised 
Mumpox,  where  he  shot  four  hundred  prisoners,  and  demanded 
reinforcements  from  Torrices  in  order  to  attack  Santa  Marta. 
These  reinforcements  the  latter  obstinately  refused  him,  thinking  it 
more  important  to  uphold  the  independence  of  Cartagena  against 
Bogota  than  to  repel  the  enemy.  Bolivar  wished  to  force  the  presi- 
dent to  submit,  and.  instead  of  continuing  his  march,  returned  to 
Cartagena,  thus  losing  precious  time.  In  the  meanwhile  the  enemy 
was  ai)proaching  and  the  common  danger  averted  a  fratricidal 
struggle.  lie  united  his  troops  with  those  of  Cartagena  and  em- 
barked alone  f()r  Jamaica,  whence  he  hoped  to  bring  succor.  When 
he  was  j)rcparing  to  return  with  reinforcements  he  received  news 
that  Cartagc-na  iiad  surrendered  after  an  heroic  resistance  of  four 
mr»nths.  The  second  period  of  the  War  of  Independence  thus 
terminated  still  more  unfortunately  than  the  first.  IMorillo  entered 
Cartagena  on  December  6,  181 5.      It  paid  dearly  for  its  refusal  to 


INDEPENDENCE  65 

1815-1816 

support  the  common  cause,  for  the  city  was  nothinjr  but  a  lieap  of 
ruins,  since  the  whole  strength  of  the  enemy  iiad  been  (hrected 
against  it.  By  the  loss  of  Cartagena  New  Granada  was  again 
opened  to  the  enemy. 

At  first  Morillo  professed  pacific  intentions,  but  almost  imme- 
diately, yielding  to  the  advice  of  Morales,  he  gave  orders  that,  with 
respect  to  the  rebels,  "  all  considerations  of  humanity "  should 
be  forgotten.  Summary  executions,  wholesale  deportations,  im- 
prisonments, forced  contributions  and  seizures  of  property  began 
everywhere.  In  the  meantime  the  patriots  kept  the  field  with  gal- 
lant pertinacity.  After  an  important  victory  at  Puente  on  February 
i6,  1816,  Morillo  allowed  himself  to  be  defeated  by  Urdaneta  and 
Torrices,  his  position  becoming  very  critical  for  the  moment;  five 
hundred  Spaniards  went  over  to  the  patriots,  some  privateers  cap- 
tured his  convoys,  and  one  of  his  ships  blew  up.  Brion,  a  rich 
Dutch  merchant  of  Cartagena,  who  served  the  government  of  Cara- 
cas first  as  captain  of  a  frigate  and  afterward  as  admiral,  brought 
back  Bolivar,  Mariiio,  and  fifteen  hundred  resolute  men,  with  one 
thousand  negroes  furnished  by  Petion.  The  treachery,  tyranny, 
and  cruelty  of  Morillo  threw  into  the  ranks  of  the  rebellion  very 
many  men  now  convinced  that  his  capitulations  and  promises  of 
pardon  were  only  snares.  For  example :  Bogota,  by  a  formal  treaty 
promising  a  general  amnesty,  opened  its  gates  to  the  Brigadier 
Latoire;  but  Morillo  did  not  hesitate  to  break  the  pledge  given  in 
his  name.  Torres,  Lozano,  Torrices,  Cabal,  Miguelde,  Pombo, 
Caldas,  and  more  than  two  hundred  other  patriots  were  shot,  their 
families  exiled,  and  their  property  confiscated.  Though  Morillo 
was  endowed  with  incontestable  military  qualities,  he  was  abso- 
lutely lacking  in  those  necessary  for  pacifying  a  country.  By 
exasperating  the  vanquished  he  made  submission  impossible.  He 
came  to  reconquer  America  and  made  its  loss  certain.  He  believed 
in  the  efficacy  of  odious  and  arbitrary  measures,  conceived  by  him, 
and  entrusted  for  execution  to  a  "permanent  council  of  war,"  a 
"  council  of  purification,"  a  "  junta  of  sequestration,"  and  courts 
martial. 

The  Spanish  flag  again  floated  over  all  the  territory  of  New 
Granada,  and  this  fortunate  success  blinded  Morillo.  He  exagger- 
ated his  power  and  believed  he  could  make  it  invincible  and  lasting 
by  a  reign  of  terror  which  he  hoped  to  extend  to  bleeding  Peru. 
He  even  dreamed  of  crushing  Buenos  Ayres.     Bolivar  undertook 


66  SOUTH     AMERICA 

""  1816-1817 

to  dissipate  his  illusions.  The  Liberator  secretly  set  sail  from  Cayes 
at  the  head  of  an  expedition  composed  of  two  ships  of  war  and 
thirteen  transports,  fitted  out  for  the  most  part  at  the  expense  of 
Brion.  On  March  2  Brion  defeated  the  Spanish  flotilla,  taking 
two  vessels.  On  the  3d  Bolivar  disembarked  on  the  Island  of 
Margarita,  which  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  mulatto  Aris- 
mendi,  and  there  the  insurgents  in  a  mass  meeting  four  days  later 
proclaimed  the  Republic  of  Venezuela  "  one  and  indivisible  "  and 
Bolivar  as  its  chief.  Arismendi  presented  to  the  dictator  a  gold- 
headed  reed,  *'  emblem  of  the  supreme  authority  in  a  country  that 
can  bend  under  the  blast  of  adversity,  but  never  break." 

The  Scotchman  MacGregor  at  the  head  of  600  men  was  or- 
dered to  go  to  the  succor  of  Marifio  and  Piar,  who  were  holding  out 
in  Guiana,  while  Paez,  operating  from  the  province  of  Apure  as 
a  base,  ejected  Morillo  from  it.  The  Indian  Paez,  who  had  passed 
his  youth  among  the  llaneros,  proposed  to  draw  his  old  companions 
from  the  reactionary  party,  and  unite  them  to  the  cause  of  inde- 
pendence. Pie  succeeded,  for  the  Spanish  government,  thinking 
there  was  no  further  need  of  their  services,  had  contemptuously 
disbanded  them  without  the  least  compensation.  They  were  unde- 
ceived by  this  ingratitude  and  went  over  to  the  revolutionary  party, 
becoming  the  most  efficient  instrument  of  its  final  success.  By  his 
loyal  and  generous  character  Paez  had  become  the  idol  of  these  un- 
tamed natures.  His  exploits  are  those  of  a  legendary  hero,  and 
most  marvelous  stories  are  told  of  him:  that  he  repulsed  the 
Spanish  infantry  by  letting  wild  oxen  loose  against  them;  that  he 
stopped  pursuit  by  setting  fire  to  the  plains ;  that  he  captured  several 
gunboats  with  his  cavalry  in  the  waters  of  the  Apure  by  swimming; 
that  with  his  terrible  lance  he  killed  as  many  as  forty  enemies  in 
the  fight,  and  when  he  fell  upon  a  band  of  fugitives  he  completed 
the  rout  by  his  powerful  voice  and  the  fear  that  he  inspired.  En- 
dowed with  prodigous  strength  and  unconquerable  energy,  he  shared 
the  amusements  and  the  dangers  of  his  men.  At  the  head  of  the 
ferocious  llaneros  of  the  plains  of  the  Apure,  he  began  those  bril- 
liant exploits  that  were  later  to  make  him  the  terror  of  the  Spanish 
armies. 

Bolivar  was  deserted  by  fortune  and  found  himself  obliged  to 
beat  a  retreat  once  more.  He  took  refuge  in  Jamaica,  where  he 
narrowly  escaped  death  by  the  poniards  of  the  royalists ;  but  noth- 
ing could  abate  his  courage.     He  was  active,  resourceful,  with  an 


1817 


INDEPENDENCE  67 


expedient  for  every  emergency,  and  the  moment  had  arrived  when, 
after  having  touched  the  bottom  of  the  abyss  he  was  to  rise  and 
issue  from  it.  The  disobedience  of  some  chiefs,  his  rivals,  had 
been  very  fatal  to  the  cause  of  independence  and  would  have  been 
much  more  so  if  the  Spanish  leaders  had  not  also  quarreled  among 
themselves  to  such  an  extent  that  Morillo  had  been  compelled  to 
arrest  two  general  officers,  Morales  and  Real.  After  many  con- 
ferences, Arismendi,  Via,  Paez,  Rojas,  Monagas,  Sedeno,  and  Ber- 
mudez  agreed  to  recognize  Bolivar  as  general-in-chief.  He  called 
together  a  general  congress  in  the  Island  of  Margarita.  Barcelona 
became  the  seat  of  the  provisional  government,  of  which  he  took 
the  direction  with  the  title  of  President  of  the  Republic  of  Vene- 
zuela. Hither  Morillo  came  to  besiege  him,  but  was  himself  de- 
feated. The  Spanish  camp  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  republicans, 
and  the  squadron  escaped  total  destruction  as  by  a  miracle,  for 
Bolivar  boldly  burned  his  own  ships  to  cut  off  the  enemy  at  the 
harbor  mouth.  Fortune  once  more  smiled  upon  the  patriots.  They 
got  the  upper  hand  at  many  points  and  the  royalists  were  discour- 
aged. Nevertheless,  Bolivar  and  Marifio  could  not  agree.  The 
one  wanted  to  lay  siege  to  Cumana,  while  the  objective  of  the 
other  was  Caracas.  The  departure  of  Marifio  weakened  Bolivar; 
but  by  good  fortune  insurrectionary  outbreaks  increased  in  New 
Granada,  the  provinces  of  Antioquia,  Quito,  and  Popayan  were 
overrun  by  guerrillas,  and  Piar,  with  the  help  of  Brion,  invaded 
Guiana.  Piar  did  his  part  well.  Scouring  the  plains  with  his 
llaneros  lancers  he  won  two  important  victories  and  defeated  Morillo 
in  person.  The  Spanish  army,  in  desperation,  made  ready  to 
evacuate  Caracas  when  a  reinforcement  of  four  thousand  men  so 
strengthened  it  as  to  justify  an  attempt  to  drive  Marino  from  the 
province  of  Cumana.  The  Island  of  Margarita  had  become  the 
base  of  the  Venezuelan  navy.  Morillo  advanced  against  it  and 
in  two  months  his  four  thousand  men  perished  there. 

Bolivar  had  established  his  headquarters  at  Angostura.  His 
rapid  movements  confused  the  enemy,  for  when  beaten  at  one  place 
he  reappeared  victorious  in  another.  His  popularity  had  not  been 
diminished  by  his  defeats  and  volunteers  flocked  to  his  standard  from 
England  and  France,  whom  he  organized  as  a  model  legion  more 
than  two  thousand  strong.  At  the  same  time  he  accredited  charges 
d'affaires  to  Washington  and  London.  In  England  Lopez  Men- 
dez,  charged  to  contract  loans  and  enlist  men,  had  no  difficulty  in 


68  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1817-1819 

procuring  either.  Venezuela  had  enrolled  no  less  than  nine  thou- 
sand foreign  soldiers.  The  Spaniards  despaired  of  conquering  the 
Liberator  and  attempted  to  assassinate  him.  Twelve  men  entered 
his  tent  one  night,  but  he  escaped  half  dressed  from  their  daggers. 

At  the  end  of  the  year  1818  the  republicans  were  in  an  excel- 
lent position.  Bolivar  convened  a  national  congress  at  Angostura, 
opened  it  in  person  on  February  15,  181 9,  and  laid  before  it  a 
proposed  constitution.  He  was  confirmed  in  the  presidency  of  the 
republic  and  resolved  to  strike  a  decisive  blow.  His  plan  was  to 
threaten  many  points  at  once  and  especially  to  make  a  feint  upon 
Caracas,  but  march  upon  southern  New  Granada,  which  the  Span- 
iards had  held  quietly  for  two  years.  Morillo  got  no  inkling 
of  it.  Marino  was  to  occupy  the  eastern  provinces  and  cap- 
ture Cumana  and  Barcelona  while  the  dictator  carried  on  this 
campaign.  Bolivar  set  out  with  his  staff  and  about  two  thou- 
sand men,  but  he  was  counting  upon  the  foreign  troops,  Paez  and 
his  Uancros,  and  volunteers  from  New  Granada.  The  patriots  of 
Casanare  had  risen  once  more  and  recognized  the  authority  of 
Santander,  a  friend  and  agent  of  Bolivar,  who  had  to  effect  a  junc- 
ture with  them,  take  Bogota  with  their  help,  and  return  to  Vene- 
zuela with  new  forces.  But  he  must  cross  the  Andes  in  the  rainy 
season,  venture  into  rugged  and  sterile  regions  traversed  by  moun- 
tain torrents,  cross  deserts  where  the  tortures  of  thirst  were  in- 
creased by  the  mirage,  penetrate  forests  where  trees  of  a  prodig- 
ious height  intercepted  the  light  of  day  and  dropped  with  continuous 
rain,  and  march  hour  after  hour  over  flooded  plains  waist  deep  in 
water.  On  the  heights  his  troops  encountered  icy  whirlwinds  and 
snow.  They  had  climbed  above  all  vegetation  and  their  path  was 
marked  for  them  by  the  bones  of  travelers  who  had  perished  by  the 
way.  After  seventy  days  of  cruel  suffering  the  little  army  gained 
tlie  western  slope  of  the  mountains  in  a  pitiable  state  and  with  greatly 
reduced  strength.  Much  of  the  war  material  had  been  perforce 
abandoned ;  the  horses  had  all  perished,  and  the  men  marched  as  in  a 
stupor.  But  the  end  was  attained  and  these  heroes  were  soon  to 
receive  the  reward  of  their  valor.  On  July  i,  in  the  valley  of 
Sagamoso.  Bolivar  encountered  3500  Spaniards,  attacked  and 
routed  them,  and  the  same  night  tunja  fell  into  his  hands.  The 
decisive  victory  of  Boyaca  opened  the  gates  of  Bogota  to  him 
( August  10,  1819).  This  brilliant  campaign  had  lasted  just  seventy- 
five  days.     Bolivar  now  carried  out  the  long  projected  union  of 


INDEPENDENCE  69 

1811-1821 

New  Granada  and  Venezuela  in  one  republic,  left  Santandcr  as  vice 
president,  and  set  out  again  for  Angostura.  His  march  was  a  con- 
tinuous triumph.  The  congress,  under  the  presidency  of  Antonio 
Zea,  sanctioned  the  union  of  the  two  provinces,  which  took  the  name 
of  "  The  Republic  of  Colombia,  one  and  indivisible,"  in  honor  of 
Christopher  Columbus  (December  17). 

Before  proceeding  further  let  us  cast  a  rapid  glance  on  the 
political  situation  of  the  different  South  American  countries:  I'^irst, 
what  had  happened  in  Brazil?  The  House  of  Braganza,  flying  from 
the  French,  had  disembarked  in  Rio  Janeiro  on  January  17,  1808. 
It  found  this  colony  stirred  like  the  rest  by  ideas  of  liberty,  and  ready 
for  revolution.  Dreams  of  emancipation  were  cherished  there,  as 
in  the  neighboring  Spanish  colonies.  A  plot  had  been  hatched  in 
1789  among  the  youth  who  read  the  French  authors  of  the  period. 
The  leader,  Joseph  de  Sylva-Xavier,  had  paid  for  his  patriotic  devo- 
tion on  the  scaffold  and  his  followers  had  been  exiled.  Rio  Janiero 
now  became  the  capital  of  the  Portuguese  monarchy  and  Brazil 
ceased  to  be  a  colony.  Its  ports  were  opened  to  commerce  and 
many  reforms  were  adopted  which  gave  the  country  a  degree  of 
prosperity  before  unknown ;  but  at  the  same  time  ideas  of  independ- 
ence spread.  The  titular  rank  of  a  kingdom  was  granted  to  Brazil 
by  the  prince  regent,  who  thereafter  reigned  under  the  style  of 
John  IV.,  but  this  gave  only  momentary  satisfaction.  In  18 17  the 
republicans  of  Pernambuco  attempted  an  insurrection  which  was 
drowned  in  blood.  Other  risings  in  different  places  were  occasioned 
by  royal  exactions,  increased  taxes,  and  the  bad  administration  of 
justice.  The  time  was  at  hand  wlien  the  antipathy  of  Portuguese 
and  Brazilians  would  give  rise  to  arbitrary  and  extravagant  meas- 
ures soon  to  be  followed  by  terrible  scenes  of  violence  like  the 
massacre  on  the  Exchange  in  February,  :82i. 

In  Paraguay  the  revolution  was  accomplished  without  blood- 
shed on  May  14^  181 1.  Here  was  formed  a  so-called  republic  under 
the  rule  of  a  dictator  for  life,  Dr.  Francia.  a  strange  being  not 
unlike  Louis  XL  This  suspicious  despot  followed  the  example  of 
the  Jesuits  by  absolutely  forbidding  all  intercourse  between  Para- 
guay and  the  rest  of  the  world. 

The  provinces  of  La  Plata  had  definitely  separated  from  the 
mother  country.  Nothing  could  check  the  work  of  their  emanci- 
pation and  it  was  finally  accomplished  in  181 3  in  spite  of  the  war 
with  the  Spaniards  in  Upper  Peru,  the  armed  intervention  of  the 


70  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

'  1813-1820 

Portuguese  in  Brazil,  the  efforts  of  the  royalist  party  to  prolong 
tiie  anarchy,  the  rivalry  of  the  chiefs,  the  insubordination  of  the 
army,  and  the  intrigues  of  the  reigning  houses  of  Europe,  excited 
by  a'  perfect  rage  for  domination.  The  house  of  Braganza,  taking 
advantage  of  the  captivity  of  the  Spanish  princes,  asserted  the 
rights  of  Charlotte  de  Bourbon  to  the  proposed  kingdom;  France 
offered  as  candidate  the  Duke  of  Orleans  and  the  Prince  of  Lucca; 
others  suggested  Francisco  de  Paula,  the  brother  of  Ferdinand 
VII.  These  conflicting  claims  caused  much  bloodshed.  The  first 
ten  years  of  the  revolution  passed  amid  incessant  struggles,  but  the 
magic  words  "  country  "  and  "  liberty  "  united  men  of  all  parties  in 
the  hour  of  danger,  and  the  young  republic  came  forth  victorious 
over  all  the  obstacles  that  were  raised  against  her  on  every  side. 
More  than  once  the  patriot  cause  seemed  to  be  lost.  Torn  by  fac- 
tional strife  in  the  capital  itself;  attacked  in  the  Banda  Oriental  by 
Artigas,  who  wished  to  make  himself  the  head  of  this  territory; 
threatened  with  disruption  by  the  efforts  for  separation  of  the  prov- 
inces, which  were  ill-disposed  to  bear  the  yoke  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and 
the  simultaneous  arrival  of  a  Spanish  squadron  and  attack  of  a  Bra- 
zilian army;  exposed,  in  consequence  of  the  victories  of  General 
Pezuela  in  Upper  Peru  and  of  Colonel  Osorio  in  Chili,  to  invasion 
on  both  these  frontiers,  the  new  nation,  under  the  guidance  of 
Puyredon,  saw  all  these  dangers  disappear  one  by  one.  Artigas, 
who  had  seized  for  himself  Santa  Fe  and  Montevideo,  was  acknowl- 
edged by  the  government  of  Buenos  Ayres  as  the  head  of  the  Banda 
Oriental  in  1815,  and  in  the  following  year  he  repulsed  an  aggres- 
sive attempt  of  the  Portuguese  to  seize  all  the  country  as  far  as  the 
La  Plata,  obliging  them  to  enter  into  negotiations  with  the  republic 
of  Buenos  Ayres.  The  Act  of  Independence  of  the  United  Prov- 
inces of  Rio  de  la  Plata,  includrng  at  that  time  the  provinces  of 
Upper  Peru  (Bolivia)  was  proclaimed  on  July  9,  1816,  at  Tucu- 
man,  by  the  Congress  legislating  "  upon  the  great  and  noble  subject 
of  the  independence  of  peoples." 

This  republic  might  have  lived  tranquilly  if  the  project  of 
the  great  powers  of  Europe  to  erect  the  territory  of  La  Plata  into 
a  kingdom  for  the  Prince  of  Lucca  had  not  come  to  carry  anarchy 
to  its  highest  point.  Puyredon,  who  held  the  supreme  power,  was 
accused  of  favoring  these  designs,  destructive  to  liberty,  and  from 
that  moment  all  was  confusion  and  disorder.  Every  province  in  the 
republic  set  up  as  an  independent  state  and  hostilities  broke  out 


INDEPENDENCE  71 

1814-1820 

between  rival  cities.  Tlie  northern  provinces  began  the  war  called 
the  "  War  of  the  Federalists  "  and  marched  against  the  "  Unionists  " 
of  Buenos  Ayres.  Artigas,  in  a  severe  battle  at  Cepeda,  defeated 
the  monarchist  party,  and  a  treaty  of  peace  was  concluded  at  El 
Pilar,  February  23,  1820,  by  which  it  was  agreed  that  a  confedera- 
tion should  be  formed  under  a  central  government;  and  the  im- 
portant constitutional  change  thus  brought  about  was  celebrated 
by  public  rejoicings.  If  Spain  had  not  been  fully  occupied  with 
internal  complications  she  would,  no  doubt,  have  attempted  a  deci- 
sive blow  here  as  she  did  in  Colombia.  As  it  was  she  bequeathed 
to  Brazil  the  mission  of  perpetuating  the  war,  by  the  pretensions  of 
the  House  of  Braganza  to  the  possession  of  the  Oriental  Republic 
of  Uruguay,  which  usurpation  was  consummated  in  1822.  After 
the  Treaty  of  El  Pilar  the  federal  republics  of  the  United  Provinces 
of  La  Plata  formed  six  divisions :  Buenos  Ayres,  Mendoza,  Tucu- 
man,  Cordoba,  Salta,  and  Corrientes,  with  about  1,012,000  inhab- 
itants. The  federal  army  amounted  to  30,000  men,  of  whom 
14,718  were  cavalry,  13,693  infantry,  and  1296  artillery,  besides 
militia  and  herdsmen  of  the  plains. 

La  Plata  was  not  content  to  selfishly  seek  its  own  independence ; 
for,  in  spite  of  the  difficulties  it  had  to  overcome,  the  young  republic 
offered  and  furnished  aid  to  the  neighboring  countries  which  de- 
sired to  be  free.  Puyredon  had  kept  up  active  communications  since 
181 5  with  Bolivar,  and  was  in  touch  with  O'Higgins.  This  famous 
Chilian  patriot,  when  besieged  in  Rancagua  and  unable  to  hold  out 
any  longer,  had  sewn  a  black  stripe  upon  his  banner,  fired  his  last 
guns,  shotted  with  coin  instead  of  grape,  and  then,  by  the  light  of 
the  burning  town,  cut  his  way  through  the  enemy  sword  in  hand, 
and  arrived  at  Santiago  followed  by  300  dragoons,  all  that  re- 
mained of  his  army  ( 1814).  Chili  bore  with  resignation  the  system 
of  persecution  organized  by  the  commandant  San  Bruno;  but  in- 
fluential men  were  preparing  the  revenge  of  liberty,  and  the  govern- 
ment of  Buenos  Ayres  was  in  correspondence  with  them.  It  main- 
tained equally  close  relations  with  all  the  chiefs  of  the  insurgent 
bands  in  Upper  and  Lower  Peru.  Thus  was  formed  an  alliance 
against  which  the  last  efforts  of  Spain  were  soon  to  dash  themselves 
to  pieces. 

An  army  of  4000  men,  under  San  Martin,  the  Governor  of 
Mendoza,  had  been  sent  to  the  aid  of  Chili.  San  IMartin  entered 
the  country  by  a  pass  in  the  Andes,  theretofore  considered  imprac- 


72  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1817-1821 

ticable.  He  won  the  battle  of  Chacabuco  February  14,  181 7,  and 
established  O'Higgins  in  power.  The  bloody  battle  of  Maypo 
(April  5,  1 8 18)  finally  freed  Chili  from  the  Spanish  yoke.  The 
joy  in  Santiago  over  this  victory  was  so  great  that  one  old  man  fell 
down  dead  at  the  news,  and  many  citizens  suddenly  became  insane. 

From  this  moment  the  Chilians  did  not  content  themselves 
with  defending  their  own  territory  but,  together  with  the  men  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  flew  to  the  aid  of  the  neighboring  peoples  who  were 
still  enslaved  by  Spain.  A  Spanish  fleet  carrying  two  thousand 
soldiers  was  defeated  by  the  united  forces  of  the  two  republics,  and 
shortly  afterward  the  Chilian  fleet,  under  the  command  of  Lord 
Cochrane,  an  English  officer,  was  strong  enough  to  command  the 
sea  and  land  five  thousand  men  on  the  coast  of  Peru  (1820).  Lord 
Cochrane  and  San  INIartin,  sent  to  liberate  Peru  from  Spanish  rule, 
took  Lima  on  July  28,  1821 ;  Peruvian  independence  was  pro- 
claimed on  the  same  day;  and  on  August  3  San  Martin  made 
himself  supreme  dictator  of  the  country.  The  protectorate  of  the 
liberty  of  Peru  and  the  command  in  chief  of  the  insurgent  army 
were  given  to  San  IMartin. 

From  the  foregoing  account  it  is  evident  what  the  situation  of 
the  Spanish-American  colonies  was  when  the  revolution  of  1820 
occurred  in  the  mother  country.  When  it  broke  out  Ferdinand  VIL 
was  making  ready  at  Cadiz  a  great  expedition,  with  which  he  in- 
tended to  reduce  his  rebellious  colonies  to  obedience  and  subjugate 
them  for  all  time.  Twenty-two  thousand  men  were  mobilized  and 
waited  in  mutinous  discontent  for  the  embarkation,  which  never 
came,  because  means  of  transportation  were  lacking.  These  men, 
who  had  been  destined  to  oppose  the  revolution  in  America,  pro- 
claimed it  in  Andalusia,  and  carried  it  to  victory  in  Madrid.  Bolivar 
proposed  to  Morillo  that  the  struggle,  which  had  already  lasted  too 
long,  should  cease,  and  an  armistice  was  concluded  at  Trujillo, 
November  25,  1820,  between  the  Spanish  and  Colombian  generals, 
and  ratified  the  next  day  by  Bolivar  and  Morillo,  who  had  a  solemn 
nitcrview  at  the  village  of  Santa  Anna,  dined  at  the  same  table  and 
slept  one  night  in  the  same  room. 

The    Spanish    Cortes    was    displeased,    recalled    Morillo    and 
replied  by  insulting  proposals  to  the  attempts  at  negotiation.    Three  ' 
and  a  half  months  after  the  truce  was  signed  Bolivar  denounced  it 
to  Latorre.  the  successor  of  Morillo.     On  June  24  he  advanced 
upon  the  Spanish  headquarters  and  captured  them,  after  a  brilliant 


INDEPENDENCE  73 

1821-1826 

charge  by  Paez's  lancers.  That  same  night  Bolivar  occupied 
Valencia.  Caracas  and  La  Guayra  again  fell  under  his  power. 
Cartagena  and  Cumana  surrendered. 

A  congress  assembled  at  Cucuta  laid  the  foundations  of  a  new 
government.  The  constitution,  which  was  proclaimed  August  30, 
1 82 1,  was  modeled  on  that  of  the  United  States.  It  abolished  the 
inquisition,  assumed  the  debts  of  Venezuela  and  New  Granada,  con- 
fided the  legislative  power  to  an  assembly  of  two  houses,  and  the 
executive  power  to  a  president  elected  for  four  years.  Bolivar  was 
again  invested  with  the  supreme  authority.  In  1822  the  United 
States  acknowledged  the  independence  of  Colombia,  and  treaties  of 
alliance  and  union  were  signed  with  Peru,  Buenos  Ayres,  Chili,  and 
Mexico.  By  the  end  of  1823  the  last  Spanish  garrison  in  Colombian 
territory,  that  of  Puerto  Cabello,  laid  down  its  arms.  The  Liberator 
was  then  at  Lima,  where  the  royalists  were  stirring  up  strife.  He 
had  hurriedly  crossed  the  Andes  once  more  to  save  the  cause  of  inde- 
pendence. The  Colombian  General  Sucre  had  defeated  the  viceroy 
near  Pinchincha  in  1822,  and  entered  Quito  and  Guayaquil.  The 
representatives  of  these  provinces  voted  their  annexation  to  Colom- 
bia, thus  increasing  the  population  of  that  republic  to  2,615,000. 
The  memorable  victories  of  Junin  and  Ayacucho,  in  1825,  assured 
the  deliverance  of  Peru.  The  surrender  of  Callao  completed  it ;  and 
the  year  1826  witnessed  the  departure  of  the  last  Spanish  soldier 
from  the  soil  of  South  America,  destined  thenceforward  to  be  free. 
Spain  lost  forever  the  rich  provinces  that  she  had  till  then  exploited 
without  pity ;  and  her  shameful  defeat  was  a  just  retribution  for  her 
conduct  toward  the  peoples  she  had  ruled  with  such  cruel  tyranny. 
The  liberating  army  had  come  to  the  end  of  its  victorious  career. 
The  whole  empire  of  the  incas  was  set  free,  and  among  the  standards 
taken  from  the  Spanish  troops,  who  for  fourteen  years  had  fought 
against  the  emancipation  of  Peru,  there  was  one  of  priceless  value. 
It  was  that  with  which  Pizarro  three  hundred  years  before  had 
entered  the  capital  of  Atahualpa. 

The  history  of  South  America  from  this  time  is  told  in  the  sec- 
ond part  of  this  work,  which  describes  the  development  of  the  vast 
empire  that  took  the  place  of  the  Portuguese  colony,  and  the  la- 
borious organization  of  nine  republics  out  of  the  fragments  of  the 
Spanish  colonial  empire.  If  Brazil,  with  the  aid  of  the  monarchies 
of  Europe,  could  make  the  transition  without  undue  shock  to  her 
institutions,  the  Spanish-American  republics,  surrounded  by  dangers 


74  SOUTHAMERICA 

1826 

and  obstacles  from  the  cradle,  were  not  so  fortunate.  Before  con- 
demning too  severely  the  turbulence  of  these  young  nations,  most 
of  which  are  still  in  the  experimental  stage,  we  should  be  mindful 
of  the  condition  of  ignorance  and  degradation  in  which  Spain  had 
systematically  kept  her  subject  peoples;  of  the  great  financial  dif- 
ficulties she  had  bequeathed  to  them;  of  the  seeds  of  fanaticism 
planted  by  her  inquisitors ;  and  of  the  mental  confusion  and  lack  of 
experience  in  the  peaceable  exercise  of  liberty  which  resulted  from 
this  long-endured  and  degrading  oppression. 


PART   II 
INDEPENDENT  SOUTH  AMERICA.    1808-1876 


Chapter  V 

THE     UNITED     STATES     OF     COLOMBIA     (NEW. 
GRANADA).     1824-1876 

A  DECREE  of  June  23,  1824,  divided  the  territory  of  the 
Colombian  Republic  into  twelve  departments:  Orinoco, 
Venezuela,  Apure,  Zulia,  Boyaca,  Cundinamarca,  Cauca, 
Magdalena,  Isthme,  Ecuador,  Assuay,  Guayaquil.  These  were 
subdivided  into  provinces,  districts  and  parishes.  But  this  organiza- 
tion was  short  lived.  When  put  in  force  the  constitution  had  been 
most  fiercely  attacked.  Two  parties  soon  formed,  the  "  Unitaries," 
who  wanted  to  maintain  a  national  union,  and  the  "  Federalists," 
who  demanded  local  independence  in  a  loose  league. 

When  Bolivar,  who  was  invested  with  the  dictatorship  of  Peru, 
returned  to  Colombia,  in  June,  1826,  the  internal  peace  of  the  coun- 
try was  gravely  compromised.  In  the  name  of  the  public  safety,  he 
made  himself  dictator  in  Colombia  also.  The  army  was  devoted  to 
him  and  applauded  this  resolution,  but  the  civil  element  suspected 
him  of  yielding  to  the  temptations  of  power  and  of  desiring  to  fol- 
low in  the  footsteps  of  Napoleon.  His  accusers  pretended  that 
Colombia  was  saved  from  monarchy  under  Bolivar  only  by  the 
fact  that  he  was  surrounded  by  many  patriots  devoted  to  the  national 
cause,  who  would  not  in  any  wise  lend  themselves  to  his  despotic 
scheme.  It  has  been  said  that,  like  Caesar,  Bolivar  sought  on  all 
sides  for  an  Antony,  who,  under  the  pretext  of  the  public  welfare, 
should  force  him  to  seize  the  reins  of  government  and  absorb  all 
authority.!  It  is  even  alleged  that  it  was  but  the  refinement  of 
hypocrisy  for  him  to  warn  his  fellow  citizens  to  be  on  their  guard 
against  himself.  This  warning  was  repeated  on  all  occasions.  His- 
tory has  preserved  his  fine  answer  to  the  Congress  of  Angostura, 
which  offered  him  the  presidency  of  the  Colombian  republic  in  1819: 
"  The  sword  will  be  useless  in  peace.  A  man  like  me  is  dangerous 
in  a  popular  government,  a  constant  menace  to  the  sovereignty  of 
the  people.  I  prefer  the  title  of  citizen  to  that  of  liberator,  because 
iG.  Hubbard.  "Histoire  Contemporaine  de  I'Espagne."  Paris  and  Madrid, 
1869,  2  vols. 

77 


78  SOUTHAMERICi^ 

1824 

the  latter  has  its  origin  in  war  and  the  former  in  the  law."  In  1824 
lie  wrote  to  the  president  of  the  Senate  to  resign  his  powers :  "  I 
desire  to  convince  Europe  and  America  of  the  horror  with  which 
supreme  power  inspires  me,  under  whatever  name  it  may  be  desig- 
nated; my  conscience  is  irritated  by  the  atrocious  calumnies  that  the 
Liberals  of  America  and  the  Serviles  of  Europe  accumulate  against 
me."  In  presenting  to  the  congress  of  Bolivia  a  plan  of  a  constitu- 
tion for  that  country,  he  said :  "  Legislators,  liberty  is  from  this 
day  indestructible  in  America.  The  wild  nature  of  this  country  is 
in  itself  sufficient  to  repel  every  form  of  monarchical  government. 
We  have  here  neither  great  aristocratic  powers  nor  high  ecclesi- 
astical dignities.  Without  such  support  tyrants  cannot  found  a 
stable  empire,  and  if  any  ambitious  men  dream  of  seizing  supreme 
power  let  the  fate  of  Dessalines,  Christophe  and  Iturbide  be  a 
warning  of  the  end  in  store  for  them.  The  upstart  princes  who  are 
so  vainglorious  as  to  wish  to  build  thrones  on  the  ruins  of  liberty, 
simply  dig  their  own  graves,  and  will  only  teach  posterity  that  men 
could  be  found  who  preferred  their  own  insatiable  ambitions  to  the 
pursuits  of  honor  and  glory."  It  seems  impossible  that  a  man  who 
coveted  a  crown  could  have  expressed  himself  so  unequivocally. 
Another  time,  at  Bogota,  this  toast  was  given  at  a  banquet:  "If 
monarchical  government  is  ever  established  in  Colombia,  may 
Bolivar  be  our  emperor."  One  of  the  generals  of  the  war  of  in- 
dependence leaped  to  his  feet  and  cried :  "  When  Bolivar  lets  him- 
self be  saluted  as  emperor  may  his  heart's  blood  flow  like  the  wine 
from  my  glass."  The  Liberator  immediately  embraced  his  old  com- 
panion in  arms,  saying:  "  If  the  sentiments  of  this  man  of  honor 
are  shared  by  all  the  inhabitants  of  Colombia,  our  independence  and 
liberty  will  never  be  in  danger."  Though  Bolivar  wished  to  retain 
tlie  dictatorship  during  his  life,  it  is  certain  that  he  considered  it  the 
only  means  of  attaining  the  complete  deliverance  of  America  and  the 
aggrandizement  and  preponderance  of  his  country;  and  in  this  he 
was  on  the  fatal  downward  road  to  despotism.  But  we  persist  in 
believing  in  his  sincerity,  good  faith,  and  patriotism.  He  has  been 
called  a  political  hypocrite.  This  is  a  great  injustice  to  a  high- 
minded  patriot,  whom  the  example  of  Bonaparte  could  not  corrupt. 
He  should  not  be  measured  by  the  standards  of  Washington,  but  is 
a  Creole  hero  who  should  rather  be  compared  with  Sertorius.  Such 
IS  our  judgment  upon  him.  Let  us  forget  his  boasting,  his  pride, 
his  dcceitfulness,  and  remember  his  activity,  his  bravery,  his  pas- 


COLOMBIA  79 

1824-1826 

sion  for  the  glory  and  independence  of  his  country,  his  disinterested- 
ness and  his  generosity.  He  emancipated  all  slaves,  including  1200 
on  his  own  estates.  His  blood,  his  life  and  his  wealth  were  all 
sacrificed  to  the  cause  which  he  had  undertaken  to  champion.  We 
may  criticise  his  acts  and  his  passion  for  domination,  but  we  should 
believe  in  the  purity  of  his  motives.  His  thoughts  turned  early 
toward  France  and  the  principles  of  her  immortal  revolution,  and 
the  Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  Man  changed  him  from  a 
thoughtless  and  dissolute  youth  into  a  citizen  and  a  hero,  like 
other  heroes  not  without  weaknesses,  faults,  and  even  crimes.  That 
at  certain  times  the  men  about  him  could  talk  of  monarchy  without 
rebuke,  as  in  like  circumstances  Washington  spoke  to  his  friend, 
John  Jay,  is  beyond  question.  The  thought  was  in  men's  minds 
and  found  expression  in  words.  From  words  to  deeds,  though  but 
a  step,  is  an  irrevocable  and  terrible  step.  This  step  Bolivar  never 
dreamed  of  taking,  and  therefore  all  free  peoples  will  hold  his  name 
in  honor  forever. 

While  he  was  in  Peru  the  Liberator  attempted  to  realize  the 
great  project  that  he  had  conceived  in  the  year  1822,  namely,  an 
assembly  of  plenipotentiaries  of  the  American  states  to  deliberate, 
"  under  the  auspices  of  victory,"  upon  their  common  interests,  to 
think  over  the  means  of  defending  themselves  against  Spain  or  any 
other  nation  that  threatened  their  independence,  opposing,  at  last,  a 
vast  American  federation  to  the  Holy  Alliance  and  to  the  threaten- 
ing principle  of  intervention  proclaimed  by  the  European  cabinets. 
This  assembly  might,  in  Bolivar's  opinion,  serve  as  a  council  in 
serious  disputes,  as  a  rallying  point  in  common  dangers,  as  a  faithful 
interpreter  of  public  treaties  if  controversies  should  arise,  and  finally 
as  an  arbitrator.^  This  project  was  during  the  year  1825  the  object 
of  an  active  correspondence  between  Colombia,  Peru  and  the  other 
new  Spanish-American  governments,  and  even  with  the  United 
States  and  Brazil.  Bolivar  was  the  more  urgent  because  the 
restoration  government  in  France  threatened  at  that  time  to  support, 
in  the  name  of  divine  right,  the  cause  about  to  be  abandoned  by 
Spain.3     Hq  ^^^^t  so  far  as  to  ask  the  Congress  to  form  itself  into 

2  Note  from  the  council  of  government  of  Peru  to  the  executive  power  of 
La  Plata,  May  2,  1825. 

3  The  intervention  of  the  Holy  Alliance  in  America  to  reduce  the  Spanish 
colonies  to  obedience  prevented  by  the  promulgation  of  the  "  Monroe  Doctorine  " 
by  the  United  States  on  December  2,  1823,  and  by  the  opposition  of  England  to 
the  project. 


80  SO  UTHAM  ERICA 

1826 

a  Committee  of  Public  Safety  independent  of  its  electors,  and  to 
organize  and  place  under  its  orders  a  powerful  squadron  and  an 
armv  of  loo.ooo  men.  Mexico  and  Guatemala  received  the  project 
with  enthusiasm ;  Chili  and  Buenos  Ayres,  which  asked  time  for  con- 
sideration, as  well  as  Brazil,  which  had  declared  war  against  La 
Plata,  and  the  United  States  were  contented  with  the  simple  part  of 
spectators;  as  to  Paraguay,  she  was  a  stranger  to  eveiything  that 
passed  beyond  her  frontiers.  On  June  22,  1826,  the  conferences 
were  opened  at  Panama,  in  that  magnificent  position  from  which 
American  diplomacy  could  attend  to  and  protect  the  interests  of  ten 
new  states  and  constitute  a  republican  federation  opposed  to  the  old 
monarchical  organization  of  Europe.  The  congress  was  scarcely 
opened  when  the  effects  of  the  climate  made  themselves  felt  in  an 
alarming  manner,  the  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  and  two 
secretaries  of  the  British  commissioner  dying  almost  at  the  same 
time.  Under  the  menace  of  a  danger  that  increased  every  moment, 
the  representatives  of  Colombia,  Peru,  Guatemala  and  Mexico  hastily 
signed  a  treaty  of  perpetual  union  and  confederation,  and  adjourned 
sine  die,  but  later  events  postponed  to  a  distant  day  the  realization  of 
this  ambitious  project.  Bolivar's  hopes  were  dashed,  and  he  sadly 
compared  the  Congress  of  Panama  to  an  insane  pilot  on  the  shore  at- 
tempting to  guide  a  tempest-tossed  ship  at  sea.  His  secret  aim  had 
been  to  organize  Colombia,  Peru,  Bolivia,  La  Plata  and  Chili  into 
an  immense  republic,  of  which  he  should  be  the  supreme  head,  the 
American  continent  being  thus  divided  into  four  great  states: 
Mexico,  aggrandized  at  the  expense  of  Guatemala;  the  United 
States;  Brazil;  and.  lastly,  under  the  name  of  the  United  States  of 
South  America,  the  rest  of  the  southern  continent.  A  dispatch  to 
Santander,  vice-president  of  the  Colombian  republic,  from  Vidaure, 
the  Peruvian  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  proved  that  the  project  was 
known  at  Panama.  In  a  letter  to  Bolivar,  Vidaure,  who  presided 
oyer  the  Congress,  expressed  his  indignation.  The  words  of  his 
dispatch  to  Santander  show  his  deep  distrust:  "  I  was  shocked  to 
hear  the  nephew  of  the  Liberator,  Senor  Briceno  Meridez,  a  pleni- 
pr)tentiary  to  the  great  American  congress,  speak  of  his  coronation. 
Ills  old  aide-de-camp,  Masquera,  the  intendant  of  Guayaquil,  ex- 
hibited an  equal  devotion  to  his  royal  highness,"  and  he  adds: 
"  How  deep  was  my  grief  and  my  surprise  when,  in  these  circum- 
stances, I  heard  Senor  Gual  say  to  me:  '  Colombia  will  have  a  pop- 
ulation as  great  as  that  of  Mexico.'  "     From  that  moment  Vidaure 


COLOMBIA  81 

1826-1828 

determined  to  utterly  overthrow  this  project,  "  so  strong  in  the  im- 
aginations of  the  abettors  of  tyranny,  but  in  fact  without  any  stjHd 
foundation."  He  wrote  for  the  opening  of  the  congress  a  speech 
which  was  approved  by  the  representatives  of  all  the  free  states,  but 
which,  he  says,  caused  the  envoys  of  England  and  Holland  to  say  to 
him :  "  Your  life  is  in  great  danger.  Bolivar  has  torn  off  the  mask ; 
he  wishes  to  be  emperor  and  establish  a  new  dynasty."  According 
to  Vidaure,  Bolivar's  project  was  defeated  by  the  haste  with  which 
the  treaties  were  concluded. 

These  facts  give  us  a  clear  view  of  the  Liberator  at  this  time. 
It  is  certain  that  the  union  of  the  three  republics  of  Bolivia,  Peru 
and  Colombia  under  the  title  of  confederation,  with  a  capital,  the 
seat  of  a  perpetual  and  inviolable  chief,  was  almost  realized.  The 
system  of  centralization  had  many  enemies,  who  were  treated  as 
factionists,  anarchists  and  disturbers  of  the  peace.  At  their  head 
was  Paez,  Bolivar's  old  companion  in  arms,  who  represented  Ven- 
ezuela in  the  Colombian  senate.  He  demanded  the  absolute  au- 
tonomy of  this  country,  which  had  given  him  the  command  of  its 
military  forces.  The  vice-president,  Santander,  though  he  publicly 
and  apparently  opposed  the  federalist,  or  separatist  party,  secretly 
supported  it.  It  is  said  that  his  purpose  was  to  deceive  this  party, 
then  to  annihilate  it  by  intrigue,  and  afterward  to  step  into 
Bolivar's  place.  In  any  case  the  Liberator  himself,  who  well  knew 
where  his  enemies  were,  proposed  to  get  rid  of  them  by  attacking 
them  separately  and  opposing  one  to  another,  but  his  calculations 
did  not  obtain  the  result  that  he  expected.  In  March,  1826,  Bolivar 
had  obtained  from  Congress  an  accusation  against  the  administra- 
tion of  Paez.  The  old  chief  of  the  llaneros,  supported  by  Marifio, 
endeavored  to  excite  a  rebellion.  Quito,  Guayaquil,  Maracaibo,  and 
Puerto  Cabello  hoisted  the  banner  of  revolution.  .  Then  it  was  that 
the  Liberator  came  from  Peru  to  reestablish  order.  He  marched 
against  the  rebels,  easily  subdued  many  of  the  revolted  cities,  had 
the  dictatorship  offered  to  him  by  the  municipalities  and  granted  an 
amnesty.  By  a  decree  of  August  3,  1827,  he  convoked  a  great 
National  Assembly  of  Colombia,  to  meet  in  the  city  of  Ocafia 
March  2,  1828,  to  determine  whether  the  constitution  ought  to  be 
reformed,  and  if  so  to  proceed  to  its  reformation.  This  decree  suc- 
ceeded in  reestablishing  a  sort  of  momentary  calm.  In  reality,  by 
convoking  this  congress,  Bolivar  only  intended  that  the  extraordi- 
nary powers  which  he  had  seized  should  be  confirmed.     Intrigue 


82  SOUTHAMERICA 

1828 

presided  at  the  elections.  Of  the  io8  deputies  elected  only  sixty- 
four  appeared  at  Ocafia ;  the  remainder  were  suspicious  of  Bolivar's 
intentions  and  remained  at  home.  The  Congress  assembled.  Dis- 
cord broke  out  from  the  first  session.  The  friends  and  partisans  of 
the  president  accused  Santander  of  extravagance,  and,  making  the 
most  of  the  necessity  for  a  strong  government,  presented  a  plan  of 
constitution  in  which  the  federalists  thought  they  discovered  the 
foundations  of  a  throne  for  the  Liberator.  These  fears  spread,  and 
the  Bolivarists  clearly  saw  that  their  numbers  decreased  day  by  day. 
The  withdrawal  of  twenty  of  them  made  the  deliberations  of  the 
Congress  impossible,  and  it  broke  up  in  the  midst  of  great  popular 
excitement.  The  Liberator,  being  a  few  leagues  from  Ocafia,  from 
whence  he  directed  the  action  of  his  partisans,  feigned  surprise.  By 
a  proclamation  in  which  the  Congress  was  indirectly  blamed,  he 
incited  the  provinces  to  adopt  extraordinary  measures.  In  Bogota, 
Cartagena  and  Caracas,  which  he  visited  in  succession,  popular 
assemblies  organized  by  his  tools  were  convoked  and  opened,  in 
which  deliberations  were  carried  on  under  the  protection  of 
bayonets;  and  the  municipalities  besought  him  to  take  supreme 
power  and  save  the  country.  The  republic  was  passing  through  a 
terrible  crisis. 

During  this  time  Peru  overthrew  the  semi-monarchical  consti- 
tution known  under  the  name  of  Bolivar's  Code,  which  the  Liberator 
had  imposed  upon  her.  The  Congress  of  Lima  declared  in  1827  that 
Bolivar,  as  president  for  life,  was  incompatible  with  liberty.  Gen- 
eral La  Mar,  who  was  appointed  president,  blockaded  the  coasts  of 
Colombia,  and  thus  foreign  war  was  added  to  internal  discord. 
Bolivia,  for  her  part,  aided  by  Peru,  overthrew  General  Sucre,  who 
had  been  imposed  on  this  republic  at  the  same  time  as  Bolivar's 
Code.  Negotiations  followed.  Peru  and  Bolivia  threw  off  the 
control  of  Bolivar  and  regained  possession  of  themselves ;  the  edifice 
that  the  Liberator  had  proposed  to  raise  had  collapsed. 

As  for  Colombia,  he  held  it  under  his  authority  with  difficulty. 
His  conduct  in  the  midst  of  such  grave  complications  had  not  been 
such  as  to  disperse  injurious  suspicions.  It  was  thought  that  he 
was  too  much  preoccupied  in  getting  unlimited  power,  and  his 
ardent  pursuit  of  despotic  centralization  opened  the  door  to  all  man- 
ner of  suspicion.  This  mistrust  grew  day  by  day.  Absolutism 
and  despotic  centralization  were  asserted  to  be  his  sole  objects. 
Ihe    federalists,    or    republicans,    did    not    cease    to   watch    him, 


COLOMBIA  83 

1828-1830 

and  to  increase  their  strength  against  him.  They  resolved 
to  make  an  end  of  it  and  free  themselves  once  for  all  from 
his  attempts  at  supreme  power.     On  the  night  of  September  26, 

1828,  they  attacked  his  palace  and  killed  the  sentinels,  and  he 
w^oiild  have  fallen  under  their  poniards  but  for  his  presence  of 
mind.  The  conspirators  had  relied  on  the  people,  but  they  pro- 
nounced in  favor  of  Bolivar,  in  whom  they  always  saw  the  legendary 
hero  of  emancipation,  the  Liberator.  Many  were  executed,  and 
Santander,  who  was  accused  of  being  the  mover  of  the  plot,  was 
imprisoned  and  afterward  exiled.  The  enemies  of  the  Liberator 
did  not  acknowledge  their  defeat.  General  Cordoba,  an  old  friend 
of  Bolivar,  rose  in  the  province  of  Antioquia  and  was  killed  in  the 
midst  of  his  soldiers.  Insurrections  broke  out  in  Popayan  and  Rio 
Negro,  and  a  much  more  serious  movement  began  on  November  25, 

1829,  in  Caracas,  the  native  city  of  the  Liberator,  where  an  assembly 
of  a  thousand  notables,  public  functionaries  and  generals  agreed 
that  Venezuela  should  be  separated  from  Colombia  and  that  Paez 
should  take  upon  himself  the  provisional  dictatorship.  The  Senate 
protested  in  vain  against  the  dismemberment  of  Colombia.  Bolivar 
saw  that  his  star  was  waning  and  employed  means  and  resources 
unworthy  of  a  great  man  in  order  to  prevent  it ;  he  exhibited  himself 
as  exposed  to  the  daggers  of  the  friends  of  liberty,  and  struck  a 
medal  commemorative  of  the  attempt  of  September  26.  In  the 
message  that  he  sent  to  Congress  on  January  20,  1830,  he  again 
tendered  his  resignation,  so  many  times  offered.  He  complained 
bitterly  that  he  had  been  suspected  in  the  United  States,  in  Europe, 
and  even  in  his  own  country,  of  aspiring  to  a  throne.  Reelected 
once  more,  he  proclaimed  that  the  Congress  should  adopt  the  most 
energetic  measures  to  prevent  the  dismemberment  of  Colombia.  He 
started  at  the  head  of  8000  men  for  the  province  of  Maracaibo, 
where  Paez  was  awaiting  him  with  superior  forces  and  occupying 
an  impregnable  position ;  this  obliged  Bolivar  to  pause.  Suffering, 
restless  and  discouraged,  the  Liberator  hesitated  as  to  the  part  he 
should  take,  when  the  provincial  assemblies  were  called  together  by 
the  Congress  in  order  to  avoid  the  division  that  they  feared.  For  a 
moment  the  congress  thought  of  conferring  on  the  Liberator  the 
presidency  of  the  republic  for  life;  but  would  he  accept  it?  After 
many  negotiations,  Bolivar  renewed  his  offer  of  abdication.  The 
new  constitution  was  achieved.  On  May  4  the  Congress  elected 
Mosquera  president  of  Colombia,  offering  Bolivar  at  the  same  time, 


84  SO  UTHAM  ERICA 

1830 

in  the  name  of  the  Colombian  nation,  the  tribute  of  their  gratitude 
and  admiration  and  an  annual  pension  of  30,000  pesos  payable  at 
the  place  where  he  should  fix  his  residence. 

The  departure  of  Bolivar  excited  keen  regret.  On  taking  leave 
of  his  old  companions  in  arms,  the  emotion  of  General  Urdaneta  and 
his  officers  was  so  great  that  those  present  sobbed  aloud.  The  very 
day  of  his  departure  the  army  raised  Urdaneta  to  power,  but  he 
could  not  maintain  his  position.  This  was  the  last  effort  of  the 
Unitaries.  They  were  finally  defeated  by  the  separatist  party,  w^hose 
triumph  was  signalized  by  the  recall  of  Santander,  who  had  been 
banished  from  the  republic  for  life  by  Bolivar.  A  decree  of 
June  10  reinstated  that  "  illustrious  victim  of  despotism  "  in  all  his 
grades  and  military  honors  and  in  his  rights  of  citizenship.  On  his 
arrival  at  Cartagena,  Bolivar  learned  with  sadness  that  the  separa- 
tion of  Venezuela  was  an  accomplished  fact.  Ecuador  also,  under 
General  Flores,  had  declared  itself  independent;  the  Colombian 
edifice  thus  lost  its  two  lateral  columns.  So  perished  the  unity 
which  had  been  the  constant  aim  of  all  Bolivar's  efforts.  The  tragic 
end  of  Sucre,  who  was  mercilessly  shot  by  the  orders  of  his  captor, 
Ovando,  completed  the  affliction  in  which  Bolivar  was  plunged. 
Overwhelmed  with  grief,  humiliated  in  his  glory,  and  deceived  in 
his  hopes,  he  died  December  17.  1830,  from  a  languid  sickness, 
which  had  overtaken  him  in  San  Pedro,  near  Santa  Marta.  He 
was  only  forty-seven  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  death.  His  fare- 
well to  the  Colombians,  dated  the  loth  of  the  same  month,  shows 
us  the  cruel  anguish  that  embittered  his  last  moments.  His  last 
words  were  "  Union!  Union!  " 

This  last  appeal  of  the  Liberator  was  not  heard.  The  Colom- 
bian Republic,  which  had  been  born  at  his  Hat,  brought  forth  at  his 
tomb  three  states — New  Granada,  Ecuador,  and  Venezuela. 

Venezuela  was  formed  of  the  departments  or  provinces  of 
Venezuela,  Zulia,  Maturin  and  Orinoco;  Ecuador  of  Ecuador, 
(luayaquil  and  Assuay.  New  Granada,  which  later  was  changed 
int.)  the  Granadine  Confederation,  and  still  later  took  the  name  of 
Lnitod  States  of  Colombia,  was  composed  of  the  five  provinces  of 
Cuiidinamarca,  Isthme,  Boyaca,  Cauca  and  Magdalena,  to  which 
have  been  added  Antioquia,  Guaneta,  and  the  territories  of  Guajira 
and  Mocoa.  The  history  of  the  republics  of  Ecuador  and  Venezuela 
IS  dealt  with  in  otlier  chapters;  and  in  this  we  shall  concern  ourselves 
only  with  that  of  New  Granada,  or  the  United  States  of  Colombia. 


THE   STATUE   ERECTED   IX    UO.\»K   OF    SIMOX    BOLIVAR,    '"EL  LIBERADOR," 

IN    THE    CITY    OF    CARACAS,    VENEZUELA 

From  a   photograph 


COLOMBIA  85 

1830-1858 

General  Francisco  de  Paula  Santander  was  elected  the  first 
president  of  the  republic  of  New  Granada  while  he  was  absent  in 
the  United  States.  He  was  inaugurated  on  October  8,  and  called 
upon  the  Granadines,  of  whatever  opinion  they  had  been  in  the 
days  of  internal  discord,  to  sacrifice  their  resentments  upon  the 
altar  of  the  country,  "  that  there  should  be  but  one  party,  that  of 
liberty,  under  the  institutions  to  which  we  have  sworn  obedience." 
Santander  reestablished  order,  and  on  March  i,  1835,  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  third  congress  of  the  republic,  he  could  draw  a  pleasing 
picture  of  the  moral  and  material  situation  of  the  country.  Accord- 
ing to  a  census  taken  at  this  time,  the  population  amounted  to 
1,687,000,  a  very  small  number  in  comparison  with  the  area  of  the 
republic.  Under  Santander's  presidency  the  Colombian  debt,  which 
had  been  contracted  with  many  English  houses  in  1822  and  1824, 
was  divided  among  the  three  republics.  The  Holy  See  officially 
recognized  the  republic  of  Granada;  and  treaties  were  made  with 
Venezuela  and  Ecuador  to  determine  their  respective  boundaries. 
In  order  to  draw  attention  to  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  across  which, 
from  the  year  1834,  he  had  desired  to  build  a  railway  that  would 
spare  navigators  the  voyage  of  4500  miles  around  Cape  Horn, 
and  thus  open  direct  communication  with  all  the  countries  washed 
by  the  Pacific  Ocean,  Santander  declared  Panama  and  Porto  Bello 
free  ports  for  the  space  of  twenty  years  for  all  nations  not  at  war 
with  New  Granada,  but  prohibited  the  importation  of  slaves  at  either 
port.  The  railway  connecting  the  two  oceans  was  opened  in  1855. 
A  special  treaty  secured  the  perpetual  and  exclusive  privilege  of 
transporting  war  material  by  this  route  to  the  United  States; 
and  in  exchange  that  government  guaranteed  to  Colombia  her 
sovereignty  over  the  isthmus  against  any  foreign  government. 
This  treaty  was  renewed  in  1865.  In  1836,  when  he  gave  up  his 
office,  Santander  witnessed  the  outbreak  of  the  strife,  which  he  had 
till  then  restrained.  When  he  died,  four  years  later,  civil  war  was 
desolating  the  country.  We  may  say  that  it  lasted  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  during  which  the  republic  experienced  all  varieties  of  revo- 
lution and  of  government,  vacillating  between  conservatism  and 
extreme  socialism. 

The  efforts  of  those  who  desired  a  radical  organization  of  the 
federal  type  triumphed  in  1858,  and  the  republic  in  consequence  was 
transformed  into  the  Granadine  Confederation.  Doctor  Mariano 
Ospina,  elected  by  the  conservative  party,  laid  before  Congress  many 


86  SOUTHAMERICA 

°^  1858-1862 

bills  tending  to  preserve  the  little  centralization  that  remained; 
but  these  laws  seemed  to  the  federalists  a  covert  attack  on  their 
system.  Protests  were  heard.  The  state  of  Santander  rejected  the 
resolutions  of  Congress ;  that  of  Cauca,  where  the  conservative  ex- 
prcsidcnt,  Tomas  Mosquera,  recently  elected  governor  and  converted 
to  democratic  politics,  was  all  powerful,  did  the  same.  The  states  of 
Bolivar  and  Magdalena  soon  followed  their  example.  Ospina  pro- 
claimed martial  law  in  the  Confederation  and  decreed  a  levy  of 
troops;  but  his  ideas  on  the  subject  of  government  did  not  permit 
him  to  use  them.  In  his  message  to  the  Congress  had  he  not  philo- 
sophically declared  that  it  was  necessary  to  make  a  trial  of  all 
theories  in  order  that  the  country  might  know  practically  the  dif- 
ferent systems  of  government?  To  this  doctrine  he  soon  returned, 
and  accordingly  folded  his  arms  and  waited  patiently  for  the  meet- 
ing of  Congress  in  i860.  Neither  did  the  Congress  show  itself  very 
much  disposed  to  defend  the  central  authority  by  force,  and  early 
in  1 86 1  the  revolutionists  were  masters  of  the  coast  towns. 

On  the  expiration  of  the  term  fixed  by  law,  Ospina  resigned 
the  presidency  and  enlisted  as  a  private  soldier  among  the  defenders 
of  the  constitution.  Julio  Arboleda,  the  ablest  conservative  leader, 
was  chosen  in  his  stead.  Arboleda  was  a  man  of  energy,  a  distin- 
guished orator,  and  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  poet  Colombia 
has  produced.  He  was  descended  from  a  family  all  of  whose  mem- 
bers had  achieved  distinction  in  the  war  of  independence.  His 
father,  desiring,  in  spite  of  the  fever  which  devoured  him,  to  fulfill 
a  mission  that  Bolivar  had  entrusted  to  him,  had  poisoned  himself 
with  arsenic  in  an  attempt  to  arrest  the  paroxysms  of  his  malady; 
his  two  uncles,  the  scholarly  Caldas  and  Miguel  de  Pombo,  had  been 
shot  by  the  Spaniards  at  Bogota;  his  cousin  Ulloa  had  suf- 
fered the  same  fate;  one  of  his  aunts  chose  rather  to  die  of 
hunger  than  to  surrender  to  the  Spaniards,  and  other  kinsmen  had 
fallen  on  the  field  of  battle.  All  these  deeds,  recited  by  an  heroic 
mother,  had  aroused  an  ardent  love  of  liberty  in  the  heart  of  her 
child.  His  life  had  been  most  adventurous;  when  he  was  elected 
deputy  a  revolution  broke  out  that  carried  him  to  prison.  After 
being  set  free  with  difficulty  he  was  besieged  in  his  house,  escaped, 
and  returned  at  the  head  of  an  army,  only  to  be  defeated  and  con- 
demned to  death.  A  turn  of  fortune  brought  him  back  in  triumph ; 
a  military  coup  d'etat  dispersed  the  Congress;  Arboleda  found  him- 
self at  the  head  of  a  victorious  army,  was  elected  president  of  the 


COLOMBIA  87 

1862-1864 

Senate,  and  was  shortly  after  invested  with  tlie  presidency  of  the 
reptibHc.  Arboleda  did  not  expect  to  enjoy  his  honors  long.  "  In 
this  proud  and  valiant  nation,"  he  said,  on  receiving-  the  oath  of  his 
friend  Mallarino,  "  it  is  as  easy  to  pass  from  exile  to  power,  as  from 
power  to  the  bar  of  the  Senate."  "*  He  soon  had  to  plunge  again  into 
civil  war,  his  chief  adversary  being  his  kinsman,  Mosquera,  who  on 
June  1 8,  1862,  seized  Bogota,  after  a  combat  of  five  hours.  The  con- 
queror took  the  title  of  provisional  president  of  New  Granada,  which 
thenceforth  was  called  the  United  States  of  Colombia.  He  decreed 
that  natural  law  should  be  the  only  code  of  the  republic,  proclaimed 
the  separation  of  church  and  state,  prohibited  the  parish  priests 
from  exercising  their  ministry  without  the  authorization  of  the 
civil  power,  and  confiscated  the  property  of  the  monasteries.  With- 
out delay  he  followed  up  the  struggle  against  the  conservatives. 
Arboleda,  betrayed  by  his  companions  in  arms,  was  assassinated 
November  2.2  in  the  defiles  of  Berruecos,  not  far  from  the  place 
where  Sucre  had  formerly  met  a  similar  fate,  and  his  lieutenant, 
Leonardo  Canal,  surrendered  December  30. 

The  civil  war  was  at  an  end  and  all  resistance  overcome  when 
the  Assembly  elected  to  draw  up  the  new  constitution,  which  was 
finally  voted  on  April  25,  was  opened  at  Rio  Negro  on  Febru- 
ary 9,  1863.  It  ratified  the  federal  organization  of  the  republic 
under  the  name  of  the  United  States  of  Colombia,  which  has  be- 
come the  official  name  of  New  Granada.  General  Mosquera  was 
intrusted  with  the  executive  power  until  such  time  as  the  first 
constitutional  Congress  should  meet,  and  the  new  president  could 
take  the  oath  before  it.  Mosquera  resigned  his  authority,  April  i, 
1864,  to  Doctor  :Manuel  iMurillo  Toro.  Alosquera,  though  sup- 
ported by  a  victorious  and  devoted  army,  had  refused  to  be  a  candi- 
date, because  of  the  article  of  the  constitution  which  forbade  the 
reelection  of  the  president ;  but  he  remained  the  leader  of  the  demo- 
cratic party.  A  young  man,  aged  twenty-two,  son  of  a  governor 
of  Bogota  who  had  been  shot  by  his  orders  in  1861,  fired  at  him 
in  the  middle  of  the  road,  and  in  broad  day,  with  the  intention  of 
killing  him.  Mosquera  was,  nevertheless,  the  idol  of  the  people, 
who  applauded  him  in  the  clubs,  where  he  uttered  against  France 
in  regard  to  the  Mexican  expedition,  and  against  Spain  in  regard 
to  her  conduct  in  Peru,  burning  words,  in  which  there  was  always 

4  Elisee  Reclus,  "Lo    pocsie    et    les    poetes    dans    l' Ameriqiie    Espagnolc." 
Revue  des  Deux  Mondcs,  Feb.  15.  1864. 


88  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1863-1865 

the  tlionght  of  again  uniting-  New  Granada,  Ecuador,  and  Vene- 
zuela in  one  nation  under  a  republican,  democratic,  and  federal 
form;  of  reconstituting,  in  a  word,  the' Colombian  edifice  as  in  the 
early  days  of  independence.  Propositions  of  this  nature  had  been 
made  to  the  president  of  Ecuador  without  other  result  than  the 
rupture  of  diplomatic  relations  between  the  two  countries  and  the 
breaking  out  of  hostilities,  IMosquera  defeating  the  Ecuadorians  un- 
der the  command  of  the  now  aged  Flores  in  the  battle  of  Cuaspud  in 
December,  1863. 

The  president.  Manuel  ^.lurillo  Toro,  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the 
ultra  liberal  party,  brought  to  his  office  the  noblest  and  most  hon- 
orable intentions,  but  he  had  to  overcome  almost  insuperable  diffi- 
culties. The  sources  of  public  credit  were  almost  exhausted;  the 
salt  works,  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  the  wealth  of  the  country, 
were  very  badly  managed,  and  produced  nothing ;  and  the  property 
of  the  clergy,  by  which  the  government  calculated  to  pay  off  the 
debt,  was  sold  at  a  low  price.  Such  was  the  position  of  affairs, 
and  it  was  aggravated  by  the  corruption  of  public  officers.  In 
the  struggle  with  the  clergy  ]\Iurillo  found  new  difficulties.  The 
hostility  of  the  democratic  party  toward  the  Court  of  Rome 
had  gone  so  far  as  the  confiscation  of  ecclesiastical  property, 
and  had  just  been  energetically  condemned  by  an  encyclical 
of  the  Pope,  which  induced  ]\Iosquera  to  propose  to  Congress 
a  bill  which  was  passed  on  April  26,  1864,  by  which  every 
ecclesiastic  was  obliged  to  take  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  con- 
stitution, and  to  obey  no  bull,  decree,  ordinance,  or  resolution 
of  officials,  churches,  congregations,  or  councils  resident  abroad 
without  previously  obtaining  express  authority  from  the  executive 
IKjwer.  Murillo  made  extraordinary  efforts  to  enforce  this  law 
with  as  much  mildness  as  possible.  It  was  one  of  the  last  acts  of 
Congress  before  separating  on  Alay  18,  1864.  In  spite  of  the  good 
intentions  of  the  president,  there  was  little  internal  tranquillity,  and 
the  states  did  not  use  their  authority  in  an  altogether  blameless 
manner.  The  instability  of  their  governments  went  so  far  as  to 
compromise  their  relations  with  foreign  powers.  Murillo,  in  his 
me-rtge  of  I'cbruary  i,  1865,  used  solemn  words.  The  countr>' 
liarl  just  escaped  from  a  civil  war,  "the  most  disastrous  of  those 
registered  in  our  sanguinary  a4inals,"  said  he.  Peace  had  been 
desircfl.  lUit  how  was  this  to  be  attained?  Fresh  disturbances 
very  soon  (occurred  in  the  city  of  Buenaventura  and  in  the  prov- 


COLOMBIA 


89 


1865-1867 

inces  of  Magdalena,  Cauca,  Tolima,  and  Ciindinamarca.  In  Pan- 
ama, the  most  disturbed  district  of  the  confederation,  a  regiment 
mutinied  on  March  9,  and  made  Doctor  Gil  Colunje  president  of 
the  state,  after  overthrowing  General  Santa  Colonna.  In  June 
the  mulatto,  Correoso,  a  friend  of  Mosquera,  endeavored,  although 
without  success,  to  overthrow  Doctor  Gil  Colunje.  Panama,  i\Iag- 
dalena,  and  Bolivar,  displeased  at  seeing  part  of  their  customs 
dues  going  into  the  hands  of  the  central  government  of  Bogota, 


ECUADOR 
COLOMBIA- AN  D>^ 
VENEZUELA 


desired  to  secede  from  the  union  and  set  up  for  themselves  an 
independent  republic.  Lastly,  a  conservative  uprising  had  been 
attempted  in  Cauca  by  General  Joaquin  Cordova.  Murillo,  dread- 
ing the  return  to  power  of  his  old  opponents,  who  were  sup- 
ported and  worked  upon  by  the  clergy,  declared  martial  law.  put 
himself  at  the  head  of  the  army,  and,  not  without  many  combats, 
defeated  and  dispersed  the  rebels. 

Mosquera  w^as  again  recalled  to  power  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
four  years  and  succeeded  Murillo  on  April  i,  1866.      Faithless  to 


90  SOUTH     AMERICA 

""^  1867-1873 

the  constitution  which  he  himself  had  drawn  up,  he  immediately 
yielded  to  the  temptations  of  despotism,  refused  to  show  how  he 
intended  to  employ  the  loans  that  he  had  raised  in  England,  and  de- 
creed a  series  of  arbitrary  measures,  hostile  to  the  constitutional 
sovereignty  of  the  federal  states.  The  legislatures  of  the  several 
states  for  the  most  part  refused  to  submit  to  his  w^ll.  Being  short  of 
money,,  Mosquera  seized  in  the  churches  the  gold  and  silver  vessels 
used  in  the  celebration  of  divine  worship.  The  Congress  in  its  ses- 
sion of  1867  annulled  as  unconstiutional  the  decrees  published  with- 
out its  concurrence.  Mosquera  appealed  to  the  people,  and,  at  a 
review,  made  a  violent  speech  to  the  garrison  of  Bogota.  The  Con- 
gress stood  firm  and  demanded  an  account  of  the  state  of  the 
exchequer;  to  which  demand  Alosquera  replied  by  declaring  that 
he  took  upon  himself  the  discretionary  power,  and  prepared  to  ar- 
rest Doctor  Murillo,  who  had  time  to  take  refuge  at  the  French 
legation.  The  Congress  gave  way  at  length,  voting  the  bills  in 
the  form  in  which  they  had  been  presented.  Mosquera  made  a 
great  show  of  this  reconciliation,  organized  a  triumphal  procession, 
leading  the  deputies  through  the  principal  streets  of  the  capital, 
himself  at  their  head  in  full  uniform,  wath  head  erect  and  covered 
with  ribbons  and  decorations.  The  fete  was  concluded  with  a 
banquet.  It  was  not  long,  however,  before  harmony  was  again 
disturbed,  and  Mosquera  decreed  the  dissolution  of  the  Congress, 
proclaimed  martial  law  in  the  confederation,  and  separated  Bogota 
from  the  state  of  Cundinamarca  to  make  a  federal  district.  Four 
deputies  were  about  to  be  shot,  when  General  Acosta,  the  second 
vice-president,  resolved  to  attempt  a  counter-revolution.  Mosquera 
was  arrested  on  the  night  of  May  22  and  sent  to  prison.  He 
was  accused  of  malversation  and  abuse  of  power,  adjudged  gnilty 
of  having  suppressed  the  freedom  of  sale  of  salt,  of  having 
prohibited  the  circulation  of  newspapers,  and  of  having  sold  to 
Peru  the  alliance  of  Colombia,  and  was  deprived  of  his  presidential 
authority  and  of  his  civil  rights,  and  condemned  to  exile  for  four 
years.  Mosquera  immediately  went  to  Lima;  his  partisans  sub- 
mitted, and  a  comparative  calm  succeeded  these  stormy  years.  The 
first  vice-president,  Gutierrez,  was  elected  president  and  entered  on 
his  duties  on  April  i,  1868.  He  was  succeeded  by  General  Salgar. 
Doctor  Murillo  Toro,  the  successor  of  General  Salgar,  was 
elected  for  the  term  from  April  i,  1872,  to  March  31,  1874.  He 
was  the  first  civilian  who  had  been  elevated  to  the  presidential 


COLOMBIA  91 

1873-1876 

dignity  for  the  second  time,  a  rank  unfortunately  too  frequently 
reserved  for  generals.  He  immediately  turned  his  attention  to  the 
railways,  telegraphs,  and  schools,  to  material  improvements  and  the 
taking  up  of  the  uncultivated  lands.  In  his  message  in  1873  he 
congratulated  the  English  and  American  governments  on  having 
given  a  great  example  of  justice  by  submitting  their  differences  to  a 
tribunal  of  arbitration.  "  This  precedent,"  he  added,  "  ought  to  be 
considered  as  an  important  conquest  of  justice  for  the  peace  of  the 
world  and  the  security  of  nations."  Was  this  not  an  invocation  to 
the  states  of  Colombia,  so  ready  to  wage  war  among  themselves, 
to  enter  upon  this  pacific  path  and  in  future  to  settle  their  differences 
amicably?  Murillo  Toro,  doubtless,  had  in  mind  the  neighboring 
countries,  especially  Venezuela;  for  the  eternal  question  of  the 
frontiers  was  just  then  threatening  to  disturb  the  good  relations 
existing  between  the  two  peoples. 

At  this  period  (1873),  the  republic  of  Colombia  was  making 
visible  progress  in  consequence  of  the  regular  working  of  her 
institutions;  industry  and  education  had  attained  an  enviable  state 
of  progress;  the  large  sums  due  to  the  United  States  were  paid, 
the  foreign  debt  had  been  reduced  to  $10,000,000,  and  the 
law  of  June  10,  1872,  for  the  funding  of  the  home  debt,  had  pro- 
duced excellent  results.  From  that  time  it  could  be  foreseen  that  in 
consequence  of  the  prudent  and  successful  reforms  introduced  into 
the  financial  system  the  budget  of  expenses  and  receipts  would 
balance  without  difficulty  at  a  not  distant  date.  The  revenue 
amounts  annually  to  more  than  $3,000,000  ($3,993,494  in  the 
year's  expenditure  of  1872- 1873),  leaving  a  surplus  over  expendi- 
ture. The  commercial  movement  in  1873  was:  imports,  $12,515,659, 
and  exports  $10,477,631.  The  maintenance  of  peace,  the  expansion 
of  industry,  and  the  opening  of  new  means  of  communication 
facilitating  exportation  have  contributed  to  augment  the  customs 
dues,  the  country  being  able  with  them  to  provide  for  the  expenses 
occasioned  by  the  law  of  June  5,  1871,  for  the  taking  up  of  waste 
lands. 

Under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Santiago  Perez  the  scientific  and 
industrial  progress  which  had  characterized  the  country  from  1870 
was  accelerated.  At  Bogota  the  streets  were  lighted  with  gas, 
chemical  works  were  erected  and  railway  lines  projected  to  unite 
the  heart  of  the  country  with  the  ocean  and  the  valley  of  the 
Magdalena.     But  political  strife  broke  out  again. 


9a  SOUTH    AMERICA 

1876 

It  was  impossible,  in  the  confusion,  for  the  people  to  elect  a 
president,  and  accordingly  Congress  chose  Aquilleo  Parra.  The 
conservatives  would  not  recognize  him,  and  the  bishops  raised  the 
faithful  in  insurrection  against  him,  clamoring  for  the  restoration 
of  religious  teaching  in  the  schools.  Each  party  put  an  army  in 
the  field.  The  states  of  Cundinamarca,  Boyaca,  Santander,  and 
Magdalena  furnished  26,000  men  to  the  conservatives,  but  the  lib- 
erals got  double  that  number  from  Cundinamarca,  Santander,  and 
Cauca.  At  Los  Chancos,  General  Trujillo  finally  defeated  the  cleri- 
calists. The  war  had  not  been  bloody,  which  was  a  proof  of 
progress. 

The  struggle  that  had  been  kept  up  between  the  Catholic  clergy 
and  the  civil  power  was  terminated  in  1874.  A  command  published 
by  the  Archbishop  of  Bogota  forbade  ecclesiastics  to  interfere  in 
any  manner  with  politics.  It  would  be  well  if  this  injunction  were 
obeyed  throughout  South  America.  At  the  present  time  questions 
of  material  progress  alone  excite  public  attention,  and  the  Colom- 
bians have  not  in  vain  passed  through  the  period  of  disorder  and 
agitation  that  we  have  endeavored  to  describe.  The  effects  of  the 
tranquillity  that  reigned  in  men's  minds  after  1865  were  so  happy, 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  general  prosperity,  that  the  customs 
receipts  doubled  in  the  short  period  of  eight  years,  from  1865  to 

1873. 

Colombia  is  a  magnificent  country,  remarkably  well  situated 
for  the  commerce  of  both  hemispheres.  Its  capital,  Bogota,  is  a 
beautiful  and  spacious  city,  whose  squares  are  all  adorned  with 
fountains ;  there  are  60,000  inhabitants,  and  it  has  besides  mag- 
nificent houses  and  five  very  fine  bridges,  a  remarkable  cathedral, 
an  astronomical  observatory,  a  museum  of  natural  history,  a  school 
of  medicine,  a  botanical  garden,  a  library,  an  academy,  three  col- 
leges for  men  and  one  for  women,  a  seminary,  four  hospitals, 
twenty-seven  churches  and  a  Protestant  place  of  worship,  and  a 
theater.  A  new  house  of  Congress  was  built  in  1871.  Near  Bogota 
are  the  two  natural  bridges  of  Icononzo,  formed  by  great  rocks 
which  have  fallen  across  the  torrent  of  the  Summa-Paz  in  such 
fashion  as  to  sustain  each  other.  The  highest  of  these  bridges 
makes  an  arch  about  fifty  feet  long  by  forty  wide. 

1  he  state  of  Cundinamarca,  whose  capital  is  Bogota,  abounds 
in  gold.  Near  the  village  of  Muzo  is  one  of  the  richest  emerald 
mines  known ;  these  emeralds  without  any  reason  are  called  Peru- 


COLOMBIA  93 

vian  emeralds,  and  under  this  name  are  sent  to  all  parts  of  the 
world.  Cartagena,  the  chief  fortress  of  Colombia,  is  the  ordinary 
station  of  the  squadron.;  the  trade  of  this  city  is  considerable,  espe- 
cially in  all  kinds  of  metals.  Cartegena,  with  its  narrow  and  gloomy 
streets,  its  extensive  galleries  supported  by  low,  heavy  columns,  and 
the  fiat  roofs  that  project  over  the  fronts  of  the  houses,  has  some- 
thing of  the  aspect  of  the  cloister. 

Dr.  Saffray,  who  journeyed  through  the  country  in  1869, 
shows  that  it  possesses  all  the  elements  of  prosperity;  a  vast 
extent  of  coast  line  on  two  oceans;  great  navigable  rivers  and 
streams  without  number;  a  fertile  soil  where,  according  to  the  eleva- 
tion, all  the  vegetables  are  easily  grown.  Cocoa,  indigo,  cotton  and 
vanilla  grow  wild.  Trees  valued  for  dyes,  cabinet  making,  me- 
dicinal uses,  resin,  and  rubber,  abound  in  the  extensive  virgin  forests, 
and  its  coasts  furnish  mother-of-pearl,  pearls  and  tortoise  shell. 
The  majestic  Cordillera  of  the  Andes  ramifies  over  its  territory, 
giving  to  its  many  valleys  the  riches  of  its  mountains:  gold,  plat- 
inum, silver,  lead,  iron,  copper,  porphyry,  marble,  grindstones,  coal, 
salt  and  precious  stones.^  Its  admirable  geographical  position, 
which  allows  direct  communication  with  the  North,  its  resources 
of  all  kinds,  its  institutions,  the  activity  and  other  qualities  of  its 
inhabitants,  show,  we  repeat,  that  Colombia  is  fitted  to  take,  in  the 
future,  a  place  in  the  first  rank  among  the  peoples  of  South  America. 

^  "  Voyage  a  la  Noiivclle-Grcnadc."     Tour  du  Monde,  Vol.  XXVI. 


Chapter    VI 

THE    UNITED    STATES    OF    VENEZUELA 

1829-1876 

NEW  GRANADA  had  acted  wisely  in  not  attempting  to 
hold  Venezuela  by  force  in  a  union  which  Bolivar  him- 
self had  not  been  able  to  consummate.  Venezuela,  with 
an  area  twice  as  large  as  France  and  a  restless  and  heterogeneous 
population  of  Spanish  Creoles,  civilized  and  uncivilized  Indians, 
negroes,  mulattoes,  mesti::os  and  zamhos,  would  have  been  hard  to 
subdue  and  harder  still  to  hold.  This  population,  thinly  scattered 
along  the  coasts  or  wandering  over  immense  plains  whose  bounds 
are  imperceptible  to  the  eye,  along  the  rivers,  on  the  numerous  lakes 
and  on  the  tableland  of  the  Venezuela-Granadine  chain  at  an  alti- 
tude of  1800  or  2000  feet,  did  not  exceed  1,000,000.  To  people 
a  single  one  of  the  states  forming  part  of  this  republic,  New 
Andalucia  for  example,  it  has  been  calculated  that  at  least  twenty 
years  of  peace  and  the  emigration  of  200,000  European  agricul- 
turists would  be  necessary. 

Venezuela  had  and  has  well-defined  limits,  which  were  those 
of  the  old  captaincy-general  of  Caracas,  formed  by  the  four  depart- 
ments of  Zulia,  Orinoco,  Venezuela  and  Maturin — on  the  north 
the  Caribbean  Sea,  west  and  southwest  New  Granada,  east  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  southeast  British  Guiana,  and  south  Brazil.  This 
vast  territory  of  407,725  square  miles  was  then  divided  into  twelve 
departments,  which  were  subdivided  into  provinces,  cantons,  and 
parishes. 

The  dying  Bolivar  witnessed  the  triumph  of  Paez.  His  eyes 
had  hardly  closed  before  a  Congress  sat  at  Caracas.  Paez,  his 
dreaded  comrade  of  the  war  of  independence,  became  the  first  presi- 
dent of  the  rej)ublic  of  Venezuela,  in  1831,  after  the  establishment 
of  its  constitution.  The  late  chief  of  the  Uancros  very  soon  made 
an  end  of  the  last  partisans  of  Colombian  unity,  whose  principal 
chiefs  submitted  on  condition  of  preserving  their  military  rank. 
Paez,  by  prescribing  certain  economies,  proved  his  moderation  and 

94 


VENEZUELA  95 

1831-1849 

administrative  ability.  The  duties  on  imports  and  exports  were 
modified  and  liberalized;  certain  privileges  of  a  decidedly  mon- 
archical character,  which  Bolivar  had  too  easily  granted  to  the 
clergy  and  the  army,  were  abolished,  and  the  equality  of  all  citizens 
in  the  eye  of  the  law  was  proclaimed.  Paez  revived  agriculture  and 
industry,  and  he  began  negotiations  with  Spain  for  the  recognition 
of  the  republic,  which  did  not  take  place  until  1845.  Slavery  was 
abolished  in  1834. 

The  presidential  authority  conferred  upon  Paez  expired  Jan- 
uary 20,  1835;  he  transmitted  it  to  Dr.  Jose  Vargas,  and  retired 
afterward  to  his  estates.  He  left  the  country  in  a  state  of  relative 
prosperity.  By  electing  a  civilian  for  its  new  president,  the  republic 
set  an  example  which,  unfortunately,  it  did  not  follow.  Vargas,  a 
jurisconsult  who  had  made  the  law  his  chief  study,  could  only 
govern  by  the  law,  and  the  sword  was  returned  to  the  scabbard. 
The  army  felt  its  influence  waning,  and  its  chiefs  organized  a  con- 
spiracy. On  July  8  a  dozen  generals  seized  the  president  in 
his  residence  at  Caracas,  and  put  him  on  board  ship  with  the 
vice-president  and  sent  them  to  the  Danish  island  of  St.  Thomas. 
Paez  left  his  retirement,  raised  a  body  of  troops  and  marched  on 
Caracas.  On  the  15th  he  addressed  a  proclamation  to  the  people 
and  the  army  in  which  he  said :  "  While  I  was  head  of  the  state  I 
caused  the  constitution  of  1830  to  be  respected  and  executed;  in 
1 83 1  I  renewed,  as  president,  the  oath  to  respect  it;  my  duty  com- 
mands me  to  defend  this  compact,  although  it  be  wuth  danger  to 
my  life."  Paez,  wuth  the  support  of  the  people,  made  himself  mas- 
ter of  the  capital  before  the  end  of  the  month,  and  Vargas,  wdio  was 
immediately  recalled,  entered  again  upon  the  exercise  of  his  func- 
tions. Nevertheless,  the  struggle  continued  in  the  province  of 
Cumana  until  the  beginning  of  the  following  year,  1836. 

Paez  was  called  to  the  presidency  for  a  second  term  in  1839, 
and  in  1842  Soublette  succeeded  him  in  the  presidentship.  This  was 
a  period  of  tranquillity  in  the  history  of  Venezuela.  When,  in  1846, 
the  war  between  the  men  of  color  and  the  Creoles  broke  out,  Paez 
was  invested  with  the  powers  and  title  of  dictator.  x\fter  the  strug- 
gle was  over  he  procured  the  election  of  Tadeo  jMonagas  as  presi- 
dent, in  January,  1847,  but  soon  had  cause  to  repent  of  his  choice. 
At  the  head  of  some  of  his  partisans,  Paez  attempted  to  overthrow 
his  successor,  and  captured  Coro,  July  2,  1849.  But  he  was  poorly 
supported,  was  defeated,  and  surrendered  with  his  two  sons  to 


96  SOUTH     AMERICA 

^^  1849-1860 

General  Sylva  on  August  14.  He  was  taken  to  Caracas,  where  he 
was  a  prisoner  until  May,  1850,  when,  having  recovered  his  liberty 
through  the  energy  of  Senator  Rendon,  he  took  refuge  in  New 
York.' 

In  the  new  presidential  elections  Gregorio  Monagas,  Senator 
Rendon,  and  Vice-president  Guzman  stood  as  candidates.  None  of 
them  obtained  the  majority  required  by  the  constitution,  that  is, 
two-thirds  of  the  number  of  votes,  and  the  new  president  had  to  be 
appointed  by  Congress.  As  this  Congress  had  been  elected  under 
the  pressure  of  Tadeo  Monagas,  after  its  predecessor  had  been  dis- 
persed by  violence,  it  was  not  difficult  to  foresee  that  the  election 
would  fall  on  the  brother  of  Tadeo ;  and  in  fact  it  did  sanction  the 
usurpation  of  the  Monagases  who,  cleverly  alternating  in  the  presi- 
dency, held  power  until  1858.  On  March  15  of  this  year  a  revo- 
lution put  an  end  to  the  domination  of  this  family  and  of  the 
Federalist  party. 

A  provisional  government,  of  which  General  Julian  Castro 
was  appointed  president,  granted  an  amnesty  to  the  exiles.  After 
many  (loul)ts  Paez  returned  to  his  country,  but  after  the  defeat  of 
tiie  conservative  party  in  its  contest  with  the  Democrats,  he  being 
unwilling  to  serve  as  a  pretext  for  civil  war,  again  went  into  exile 
in  June,  1859.  On  the  day  following  the  fall  of  the  Monagases  the 
Conservatives  had  restored  the  old  constitution,  modified  by  some 
liberal  reforms,  and  Castro  had  already  published  the  new  constitu- 
tion, which  had  been  framed  in  Valencia  by  a  constituent  assembly. 
This  did  not  satisfy  the  Liberals  and  Democrats,  who  raised  the  ban- 
ner of  federalism  in  order  to  free  themselves  from  the  domination 
of  the  old  oligarchical  party  of  Venezuela,  the  Conservatives. 
Several  provinces  responded  to  their  call.  Castro  resigned  power 
in  order  to  break  with  his  political  friends,  but  afterward  recovered 
the  presidency,  appointed  Liberal  ministers  and  published  a  Feder- 
alist programme.  This  clever  maneuver,  nevertheless,  did  not  have 
the  success  that  he  expected.  Deserted  by  everyone  at  the  moment 
when  the  two  rival  parties  were  coming  to  blows  in  Caracas,  he  was 
by  turns  arrested  and  set  at  liberty,  and  finally  disappeared.  The 
Consen-atives,  sole  masters  of  the  field,  placed  Dr.  Pedro  Gual, 
the  first  dcsignado  or  vice-president,  at  their  head,  who  caused 
Castro  to  be  tried  as  a  traitor,  and  afterward  pardoned  him.  Gual 
suppressed  the  insurgent  movements,  thwarted  the  new  attempts  of 
the  Monagases  and  reestablished  public  tranquillity.     Manuel  Felipe 


VENEZUELA  97 

1860-1862 

de  Tovar  being-  elected  president  received  the  republic  in  a  fairlv 
satisfactory  condition  from  the  vice-president,  but  the  Federalists 
did  not  give  up  the  contest.  Tovar  took  measures  against  them 
with  not  very  successful  results.  All  eyes  were  again  turned 
toward  Paez.  The  old  general  had  been  accredited  to  the  United 
States  as  envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  in  Octo- 
ber, i860,  but  was  now  recalled.  In  March,  1861,  he  reached 
Caracas.  Tovar  gave  him  the  command  of  the  army;  but  as  he 
attempted  to  limit  his  authority  Paez  tendered  his  resignation.  This 
withdrawal  caused  so  much  excitement  that  Tovar  was  obliged  to 
abdicate  on  May  8.  Gual  again  took  the  direction  of  affairs 
and  restored  Paez  to  his  position,  investing  him  with  the  widest 
powers.  Fresh  differences  or  dissensions  arose  between  Paez  and 
Gual  himself,  who  openly  favored  the  Liberal  party,  and  Paez 
gave  in  his  resignation  for  the  second  time.  On  August  2'j^  a 
colonel  named  Echezuria,  hitherto  unknown,  being  ambitious  of 
becoming  a  general,  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  garrison  of 
Caracas,  marched  to  the  Government  House,  made  prisoners  of 
Dr.  Gual  and  the  ministers,  and  proclaimed  Paez  dictator.  This 
dictatorship  was  born  of  the  divisions  among  the  Conservatives, 
whose  four  sections  were  fighting  among  themselves,  and  merely 
added  one  more  complication  to  the  endless  dispute  between  the 
Unitarians  and  the  Federalists.  Paez  soon  found  himself  powerless 
to  put  down  the  Federalist  movement,  and  its  chief  promoter, 
General  Juan  Jose  Falcon,  assumed  the  position  of  head  of  the  gov- 
ernment in  the  provinces  occupied  by  him.  This  weakness  was 
shown  in  the  negotiations  that  he  found  it  necessary  to  begin  with 
Falcon. 

Indeed,  the  illustrious  leader  in  the  War  of  Independence  was 
worn  and  old,  and  really  left  the  exercise  of  power  to  his 
associates,  who  made  use  of  the  prestige  attached  to  his  past 
life  to  govern  according  to  their  own  views  and  passions,  and  who 
did  not  scruple  to  compromise  his  reputation  in  low  and  underhand 
intrigues.  His  friend  Rojas  governed,  acted  and  spoke  in  his  place. 
He  was  the  power  behind  the  throne.  Paez  had  appointed  him 
Minister  of  the  Interior  at  the  same  time  that  the  ambitious  Colonel 
Echezuria  received  the  portfolio  of  war.  Rojas  returned  to  despot- 
ism, multiplying  the  most  arbitraiy  and  vexatious  measures.  This 
system,  decorated  as  usual  with  the  title  of  conservative,  made  Paez 
unpopular,  and  produced  results  entirely  different  from  those  that 


98  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1862-1863 

were  expected.  Maracaibo  separated  from  Caracas,  August  20, 
1862,  and  formed  itself  into  a  free  state.  Soon  the  Federalists  were 
almost  the  sole  masters  everywhere.  Paez  lacked  financial  resources 
and  his  forces  were  fluctuating  in  number  and  untrustworthy.  For 
example:  Echezuria,  the  Minister  of  War  and  Marine,  the  same 
who  had  proclaimed  Paez,  now  conspired  against  him  and  was  im- 
prisoned ;  Generals  Rubio  and  Michelena,  sent  against  Falcon,  went 
over  to  his  side.  Other  personages  on  whom  he  counted  for  govern- 
orships and  other  duties,  refused  their  support  on  account  of  Rojas, 
who  was  the  object  of  general  censure.  And  as  if  this  critical  state 
of  things  were  not  enough,  diplomatic  relations  with  Spain  were 
broken  off  in  consequence  of  the  insulting  words  of  the  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  to  the  charge  d'affaires  of  that  country.  While 
this  was  taking  place,  Falcon  defeated  the  government  troops. 

In  the  month  of  April,  1863,  the  confusion  had  reached  its 
height ;  the  western  provinces  proclaimed  federation  at  the  same 
time  that  armed  parties  overran  and  raised  the  eastern  provinces. 
The  capital  was,  so  to  say,  blockaded  by  the  insurrection.  On 
April  23,  Paez  was  obliged  to  treat  with  the  Federalists;  on  May  22 
it  was  stipulated  that  the  supreme  administration  of  the  state  should 
be  confided  to  a  junta,  to  which  each  province  should  send  four 
members,  half  appointed  by  Paez  and  half  by  Falcon.  This  junta 
met  in  Victoria,  the  capital  of  the  province  of  Aragua,  June  15,  and 
tiie  two  rival  chiefs  resigned  their  authority.  Two  days  thereafter 
the  junta  appointed  Generals  Juan  Falcon  and  Guzman  Blanco, 
provisionally,  president  and  vice-president.  The  last  had  power- 
fully contributed  to  the  triumph  of  the  Federalists.  The  revolution 
was  terminated  without  effusion  of  blood ;  nevertheless  the  pacifica- 
tion was  not  complete.  The  Unitary  generals,  Martinez  and 
Cardenas,  shut  up  in  Puerto  Cabello,  formed  a  provisional  govern- 
ment with  General  Cordero  at  its  head.  Falcon  entered  Caracas  on 
July  26  amid  popular  demonstrations,  introducing  the  vice-presi- 
dent into  the  new  cabinet  as  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  and 
Finance. 

The  elections  for  the  Constituent  Assembly,  charged  to  re- 
organize once  more  the  republic  of  Venezuela,  were  to  take  place 
October  11.  In  the  meantime  the  chief  of  the  new  Federation, 
making  use  of  his  dictatorial  powers,  appointed  a  Council  of  State 
and  sent  governors  of  his  own  choice  to  the  provinces.  On  August 
18  he  published  a  Declaration  of  Rights,  granting  every  kind  of 


VENEZUELA  99 

1863-1869 

liberty  to  the  Venezuelans  and  abolishing  capital  punishment.  Un- 
fortunately financial  difficulties  were  pressing,  and  already  a  loan 
was  spoken  of.  As  Paez  had  by  his  side  a  councillor  who  was 
the  real  dictator,  so  also  had  Falcon  close  to  him  a  man  disposed 
to  dominate ;  General  Blanco  seemed  to  wish  to  be  a  second  Rojas, 
and  it  was  even  suspected  that  a  certain  understanding  existed 
between  these  two  persons,  by  whom  peace  had  been  negotiated. 
Rojas,  on  his  fall,  had  had  himself  appointed  a  general,  notwith- 
standing that  he  had  never  served  in  the  army,  and  it  was  supposed 
that  he  was  preparing  the  means  of  his  return  to  power. 

On  December  24  the  Constituent  Assembly,  which  had  been 
elected  on  October  11,  met  at  Caracas.  In  his  message  Falcon 
declared  that  nobody  had  been  imprisoned  or  exiled,  that  his  con- 
duct had  been  dictated  by  the  sentiment  of  generosity,  and  that 
the  fullest  guarantees  were  secured  to  all  the  citizens.  He  then 
resigned  to  the  representatives  of  the  nation  the  dictatorial  author- 
ity with  which  he  had  been  invested.  Falcon,  the  mover  of  "  the 
great  crusade  of  liberty,"  was  invited  "  to  continue  to  carry  on 
the  general  government  of  the  federation  with  the  rank  of  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  of  Venezuela,"  and  afterward  the  hon- 
orary title  "  The  Great  Citizen-General  "  was  given  to  him.  The 
powers  of  Guzman  Blanco  were  also  confirmed,  and  he  was  elected 
president  of  the  Assembly. 

The  legislative  authority  was  commissioned  to  draw  up  a 
uniform  code  of  laws  applicable  to  the  whole  confederation;  and 
also  to  select  an  uninhabited  tract  of  country  for  a  federal  district, 
where  the  national  capital  should  be  built.  The  new  Assembly 
immediately  took  up  the  question  of  the  national  finances,  which 
were  in  great  confusion.  Nevertheless,  in  1862,  in  spite  of  civil 
war,  the  general  commerce  with  France  amounted  to  $2,783,600, 
of  which  $1,853,000  were  imports  of  French  goods — textiles, 
novelties,  wines  and  liquors.  Indeed,  the  revenue,  which  was 
raised  almost  exclusively  from  customs  duties,  was  greater  than 
that  of  New  Granada,  although  the  population  of  the  latter  was 
more  numerous;  in  1864  it  exceeded  $6,400,000,  while  the  budget 
called  for  only  $4,000,000.  Unfortunately  this  revenue  was  pledged 
to  secure  various  creditors,  which  absorbed  a  large  part  of  it,  and 
no  new  taxes  could  be  laid  in  excess  of  those  decreed  in  1862  and 
1863,  without  destroying  commerce. 

Under  these  circumstances  the  Congress  decided,  January  14, 


100  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1864 

1864,  to  vote  a  loan  of  $15,000,000,  which  Guzman  Blanco  was 
commissioned  to  neg-otiate  in  Europe. 

Those  who  suppose  that  these  new-born  American  republics 
lose  or  neglect,  in  the  midst  of  their  continual  revolutions,  all 
thought  of  economic  betterment  are  much  mistaken.  In  this  same 
troubled  year,  1863,  two  lines  of  steamers  were  established,  one 
between  La  Guayra  and  Ciudad-Bolivar,  calling  at  the  island  of 
Margarita,  Barcelona,  Carupano,  Cumana,  and  Trinidad,  and  the 
other  the  River  Aroa ;  a  contract  entered  into  between  La  Guayra 
and  Santo  Tomas  extended  the  line  of  navigation  to  Puerto  Cabello, 
where  the  foundations  of  a  lighthouse  had  been  laid ;  the  construc- 
tion of  the  eastern  railway  was  actively  prosecuted;  the  works 
for  lighting  the  capital  by  gas  were  completed,  and  a  school  of 
engineers  and  another  of  arts  and  trades  were  established  in  Caracas. 
In  the  previous  year  Venezuela  made  a  successful  figure  at  the 
London  Exhibition,  ranking  next  after  Brazil.  Nevertheless,  we 
are  far  from  asserting  that  political  agitation  has  not  exercised 
a  pernicious  influence.  Industry  and  agriculture  have  especially 
suffered  in  this  country  by  the  continual  stress  of  civil  war.  Only 
one  important  enterprise  prospered,  namely,  the  gold  mines  of 
Yuruari,  discovered  in  1849  ^^^^  actively  worked  since  1858. 

Falcon  had  left  Caracas  while  the  constitution  was  under  dis- 
cussion, leaving  the  direction  of  affairs  to  the  second  designado, 
General  Paredes.  He  did  not  return  until  April,  1864,  to  close  the 
legislative  session,  and  watch  more  closely  the  incidents  of  the 
Spanish-Peruvian  war,  which  had  just  broken  out.  Lima  begged 
f(jr  the  support  and  assistance  of  the  American  states,  and,  not- 
withstanding the  crisis  that  the  republic  was  passing  through,  it 
answered  that  the  government  of  Venezuela  would  not  break  "  the 
conimcju  Ixjnd  that  united  her  with  the  other  republics  of  the  Amer- 
ican continent,  if  they  were  obliged  to  defend  themselves  for  the 
preservation  of  their  autonomy  and  institutions."  Therefore,  Ven- 
ezuela had  a  representative  at  the  conference  which  began  in  Lima 
toward  the  end  of  1864. 

Falcon  formed  a  new  Cabinet,  created  a  ministry  of  Public 
Credit,  under  Alvarez  Lugo  as  the  first  minister,  and  reduced  the 
effective  strength  of  the  army  to  2800  men.  Thereafter,  the  two 
vice-presidents  being  absent,  he  left  the  cares  of  government  to  one 
of  the  ministers,  General  Trias,  and  retired  to  Coro.  It  is  difficult 
to  understand  such  an  abandonment  of  responsibility.    There  was  a 


VENEZUELA  101 

1864-1874 

dispute  with  Spain ;  the  Conservatives  were  restive ;  the  states  were 
endeavoring  to  throw  off  their  dependence  on  the  central  power ;  in 
the  month  of  August  the  governors  of  Aragua  and  Apure  were 
overthrown;  General  Sotero,  the  Governor  of  Guarico,  rehelled 
against  Caracas  and  had  some  imitators;  in  Guiana  General  Aris- 
mendi,  chief  of  the  customs  house  of  Ciudad-Bolivar,  raised  a  body 
of  troops  and  placed  some  small  vessels  at  the  small  mouth  of  the 
Orinoco;  and  in  the  capital,  unseasonable  measures  with  respect  to 
the  price  of  bread  aroused  the  people,  who  were  irritated  against 
foreigners  by  the  events  in  Peru,  and  provoked  some  riots.  The 
president,  leaving  his  retirement,  was  able  with  great  difficulty  to 
get  together  icxdo  men,  but  he  could  not  maintain  them.  The 
treasury  was  empty,  and  exchange  on  London  was  suspended.  The 
financial  mission  entrusted  to  Blanco  had  not  produced  the  results 
that  were  expected,  and  credit  was  so  low  that  a  merchant  demanded 
cash  payment  in  coin  before  filling  an  order  for  saber  scabbards.  In 
this  critical  situation  the  elections,  which  should  take  place  accord- 
ing to  law  on  October  21,  1864,  were  suspended,  and  Falcon  thought 
that  he  might  enter  into  negotiations  with  the  state  of  Guiana. 
The  state  of  Guarico  could  be  reduced  by  force,  but  that  of  Mara- 
caibo  maintained  its  independence.  Blanco,  on  his  return  from 
Europe,  took  (November  6,  1864)  the  government  that  Falcon, 
who  was  engaged  against  the  rebels,  left  to  him.  A  loyal  ministry 
was  formed,  which  procured  some  resources  for  the  treasury  by 
various  extemporized  measures,  and  caused  the  elections  to  be  held. 
Falcon  was  reelected  president  and  proclaimed  by  Congress  March 
18,  1S65,  a  month  after  the  opening  of  the  new  Congress ;  but  doubt- 
less he  was  not  ambitious  to  risk  his  popularity  in  inextricable  dif- 
ficulties; so  he  left  Blanco  to  face  the  storm  in  his  place,  gave  the 
command  of  the  army  to  Trias,  and  retired  to  his  quiet  residence 
of  Coro.  His  reelection  affirmed  the  definitive  triumph  of  federal- 
ism. Paez  saw  that  his  part  was  played  out,  and  again  went  into 
voluntary  exile  in  the  United  States,  a  noble  wreck,  the  sport  of 
adverse  winds,  cast  away  upon  a  foreign  shore.  He  died  in  New 
York  in  1873,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years.  A  few  months  later, 
in  1874,  Rojas  died  in  France,  where  he  had  settled. 

The  country  would  have  found  peace  if  the  conquerors  had 
not  become  disunited  after  repulsing  the  common  enemy.  On  the 
day  following  the  electoral  contest  grave  disorders  broke  out.  In 
Barcelona,  General  Carvajal,  after  overthrowing  the  president  of 


102  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1866-1873 

the  state,  attempted  to  set  up  the  old  Tadeo  Monogas,  who  was 
more  than  eighty  years  old,  as  chief.  In  Maracaibo,  Venancio  Pul- 
gar  rebelled,  was  defeated,  and  owed  his  safety  to  the  speed  of  his 
horse.  Falcon  took  the  direction  of  affairs  in  July,  1865,  but  his 
presence  in  Caracas  in  no  way  changed  the  situation.  In  November 
the  state  of  Apure  expelled  its  president,  and  the  insurgents  assas- 
sinated the  captain  and  crew  of  an  American  ship  plying  upon  the 
river  that  gives  its  name  to  this  province.  And  as  if  these  complica- 
tions were  not  sufficient.  Chili,  at  war  with  Spain,  demanded  the 
assistance  of  the  republic.  On  March  2,  1866,  Guzman  Blanco,  in 
the  absence  of  Falcon,  opened  the  legislative  session;  his  message 
demonstrated  the  absolute  want  of  funds  in  the  federation.  The 
Congress  ordered  the  ministers  to  present  their  respective  accounts 
within  twenty-four  hours.  The  Minister  of  Finance,  Landaeta, 
alone  presented  his.  The  penury,  he  said,  was  so  great,  that  he  had 
not  had  sufficient  money  to  pay  for  the  printing  of  those  of  his 
colleagues.  Landaeta  said  that  bankruptcy  was  imminent,  and 
declared  that  smuggling,  favored  by  officials  of  all  ranks,  destroyed 
the  resources  of  the  treasury.  The  hostile  attitude  of  the  Congress 
recalled  Falcon  to  Caracas.  He  wished  to  watch  more  closely  the 
approaching  elections  for  the  vice-presidency.  His  two  candidates, 
Generals  Marquez  and  Colina,  were  elected,  and  in  the  new  cabinet 
the  highest  position  was  given  to  his  brother-in-law.  General 
Pachano.  He  even  succeeded  in  getting  a  vote  of  confidence  from 
the  Congress.  At  last  he  was  able  to  calm  the  popular  excitement 
resulting  from  the  bombardment  of  Valparaiso.  Falcon  dreaded  a 
war  with  Spain,  because  the  Venezuelan  coasts  were  much  more 
exposed  to  attacks  from  the  Spanish  squadron  than  those  of  Chili 
and  Peru.  The  Congress  gave  him  full  liberty  to  maintain  peace 
or  to  break  with  :Madrid.  At  bottom,  the  presidential  authority  was 
precarious.  At  the  end  of  June  the  insurrection  extended  to  the 
west.  A  campaign  of  three  months,  led  by  Falcon  in  person,  was 
ended  by  a  treaty.  Peace  was  bought  by  distributing  among  the 
insurgents  $1,000,000.  In  the  bad  condition  of  the  finances  this 
sacrifice  was  a  terrible  blow  to  the  already  weakened  popularity  of 
the  government.  Even  the  capital  was  very  much  excited.  The  pro- 
visifMial  government,  to  which  the  president  had  delegated  his 
powers  on  leaving  Caracas,  had  suspended  treasury  payments. 
Blanco,  the  representative  of  the  republic  in  Paris  and  London, 
criticised  this  measure  and  was  recalled.     At  the  same  time  the 


VENEZUELA  103 

1867-1873 

majority  of  ministers  resigned.  The  anarchy  was  complete. 
Colina,  who  commanded  a  small  army  near  Caracas,  hastened  to 
take  charge  of  affairs,  and  persuaded  the  ministers  who  had  re- 
signed to  resume  their  powers. 

Nevertheless  Falcon,  as  he  had  formerly  done,  put  off  the 
duties  of  his  position  and  remained  at  a  distance  from  Caracas.  He 
did  not  appear  to  be  disquieted  either  by  the  disturbances  in  Bar- 
celona or  the  attacks  on  Maracaibo,  at  one  time  by  the  emigrants 
who  had  returned  to  the  national  territory,  at  another  by  the  Con- 
servatives. Many  provinces  had  shown  themselves  ready  to  break 
the  federal  compact  completely.  The  Congress,  alarmed  at  this, 
before  separating,  conferred  almost  unlimited  power  upon  the  presi- 
dent. This  was  in  June,  1867.  In  October  an  insurrection  broke 
out  in  the  State  of  Caracas  itself,  which  was  put  down  by  Falcon 
after  a  short  struggle;  but  the  opening  of  the  year  1868  was  very 
threatening.  Only  La  Guayra  and  Puerto  Cabello  paid  into  the 
national  treasury  the  product  of  their  customs  houses  with  any  regu- 
larity; while  the  other  states  appropriated  to  their  own  use  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  customs  houses  situated  in  their  territories.  The  repub- 
lic could  not  satisfy  its  creditors,  and  its  penury  had  reached  its 
limit.    Under  such  circumstances  Falcon  fell. 

The  Unitarian  party,  which  had  been  vanquished  in  1863,  con- 
quered in  1868,  led  by  J.  R.  Monagas,  who  was  raised  to  the  presi- 
dency, but  was  soon  overthrown  in  its  turn.  Monagas  died  in 
November.  In  December  Fulgar  was  elected  provisional  president. 
The  year  1869  was  very  agitated.  On  April  27,  1870,  Guzman 
Blanco,  becoming  master  of  Caracas  after  three  days'  fighting,  pro- 
claimed himself  "  general-in-chief  of  the  constitutional  army  of  the 
Confederation."  On  July  13  he  was  granted  extraordinary  powers 
and  the  title  of  provisional  president  of  the  republic  by  a  Congress 
which  met  in  Valencia.  This  provisional  government  lasted  until 
February  20,  1873,  when  he  was  finally  elected.  In  this  interval 
he  had  to  overcome  a  formidable  insurrection,  led  by  General  Sala- 
zar,  the  second  designado.  The  struggle  had  been  very  bitter  in 
the  eastern  districts,  where  many  strong  places,  which  it  was  neces- 
sary to  take  by  assault,  were  held  by  the  rebels.  The  defeat  of 
Salazar,  who  was  taken  prisoner  and  shot  in  June,  1872,  secured 
the  triumph  of  Blanco,  and  put  an  end  for  a  short  time  to  the 
civil  war. 

On  March   i,    1873,   the  president,  addressing  the  Congress 


104.  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1873-1876 

of  tlie  United  States  of  Venezuela,  assembled  for  the  first  time 
in  the  new  palace  in  Caracas,  expressed  the  opinion  that  if  a  new 
war  did  not  again  disturb  the  country,  and  arrest  it  on  the  path  of 
progress,  in  a  few  years  it  would  reach  a  high  degree  of  prosperity ; 
that  during  his  dictatorship  no  new  debt  had  been  contracted;  and 
that  the  financial  position  was  exceptionally  favorable.  He  said  that 
he  intended  to  submit  to  Congress  a  new  civil  code,  a  penal  code,  a 
commercial  code,  a  code  of  finance,  and  a  military  code.  He  con- 
cluded by  calling  for  an  important  modification  of  the  constitution, 
demanding  that  the  constitutional  term  of  ofiice  of  the  president  and 
other  officers  should  be  reduced  from  four  to  two  years.  This 
measure  would,  in  his  opinion,  offer  a  guarantee  of  liberty  and  put 
an  end  to  revolutions,  because,  instead  of  overthrowing  the  estab- 
lished government  by  force  of  arms,  it  would  be  found  more  prudent 
to  await  the  lapse  of  so  short  a  period.  The  president,  if  his  propo- 
sition should  be  adopted,  would  gladly  renounce  the  third  and 
fourth  years  of  his  term  in  order  to  give  his  country  this  proof  of 
abnegation  and  to  show  how  far  removed  he  was  from  personal 
ambition.  This  proposition  was  not  accepted  by  the  legislators  of 
Caracas. 

The  government  has  been  equally  active  in  the  development  of 
all  the  important  material  enterprises,  and  of  public  instruction.  Its 
decrees  on  the  subject  of  emigration  have  produced  good  results; 
thousands  of  colonists  have  left  France,  as  well  as  Spain  and  Ger- 
many, to  carry  to  Venezuela  the  cooperation  of  their  strength  and 
intelligence. 

During  the  presidency  of  Guzman  Blanco  Congress  made  very 
important  changes  in  religious  and  ecclesiastical  aflfairs:  the  sup- 
pression of  the  monasteries  was  decreed  in  1874  (May  2)  ;  and  a 
national  church  was  established  (1876). 


Chapter   VII 

THE    REPUBLIC    OF    ECUADOR.     1831-1876 

THE  territory  of  Ecuador  extends  from  east  to  west  be- 
tween Brazil  and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Bounded  on  the 
north  by  the  United  States  of  Colombia,  and  on  the 
soutH  by  Peru,  it  forms  one  of  the  richest  and  most  beautiful  coun- 
tries of  the  world.  In  the  interior  mountain  ranges  extend  as  far 
as  the  eye  can  reach  and  here  are  the  highest  volcanoes  on  the 
globe.  At  a  lower  level  there  are  vast  tablelands,  and  along  the 
coast  great  plains  covered  with  a  wealth  of  tropical  vegetation. 
There,  as  so  often  elsewhere  in  South  America,  Nature  is  more  ready 
to  respond  to  the  advances  of  man  than  is  man  to  make  use  of  the 
bounty  of  Nature. 

The  sparse  population  is  not  sufficient  for  the  prosperity  of  an 
extensive  territory  where  the  means  of  communication  are  so  im- 
perfect. A  fertile  land  lavishes  its  treasures  in  vain  if  hands  are 
wanting  to  gather  them,  and  means  to  transport  them ;  accordingly 
vast  riches  lie  hidden  in  the  mountains  and  virgin  forests,  the  work- 
ing of  the  mines  is  abandoned,  and  agriculture  is  completely 
neglected.  "  A  number  of  valuable  trees  offer  the  tribute  of  their 
succulent  fruits,  or  their  wood,  desirable  for  building  and  cabinet- 
making  ;  here  rise  the  cotton  tree,  the  ebony,  the  cedar  and  the  Peru- 
vian bark  tree,  whose  majestic  trunks  are  enlaced  with  the  savory 
granadilla  or  the  perfumed  vanilla;  there  the  cinnamon  tree,  the 
indiarubber  tree,  the  plants  which  yield  spices  and  scents,  medicinal 
balsams,  resins,  gums  and  lacquers,  mixed  with  the  tobacco,  tama- 
rind and  laurel ;  the  hollows  in  the  trees  conceal  clusters  of  honey- 
comb, and  at  their  feet  often  grow  edible  tubers  and  roots.  All  this 
wealth  is  the  spontaneous  product  of  the  soil ;  the  vegetable  kingdom 
grows  and  fructifies  without  the  aid  of  labor.  It  seems  as  if  man  is 
ignorant  of  or  disdains  these  gifts  of  Nature."  ^ 

The  population  of  Ecuador  is  grouped,  for  the  most  part,  on 
the  elevated  tablelands  of  the  province  of  Quito.    The  city  of  this 
1  Ernest  Charton,  "  Quito." 
105 


106  SOUTHAM  ERICA 


1831 


name,  the  residence  of  the  last  incas  and  the  capital  of  the  republic, 
has  3500  inhabitants,  and  is  situated  over  10,000  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea.  Pinned,  so  to  say,  on  the  side  of  a  mountain,  be- 
tween the  two  craters  of  Pichincha,  which  exhibits  a  column  of 
smoke,  sometimes  broken  by  a  slight  eruption,  it  overlooks  the 
streams  and  great  river  valleys  of  the  two  slopes  which  descend  to 
the  Pacific  and  the  Atlantic.  This  city,  so  rich  in  historical  mem- 
ories, is  best  known  in  France  for  the  visit  made  there  in  1736  by 
the  scientists  sent  out  by  the  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Paris  to 
measure  a  degree  on  the  meridian.  It  is  a  dull  and  backward 
town  from  the  point  of  view  of  civilization;  its  chief  festivals 
are  the  interminable  processions  that  traverse  the  steep  streets 
and  in  which  all  the  women  of  the  city  take  part.  Some  relig- 
ious buildings  in  the  Moorish  style  are  the  sole  enduring  traces 
of  the  Spanish  domination.  It  possesses  a  beautiful  observa- 
tory, the  first  that  has  been  erected  on  the  line  dividing  the  two 
hemispheres,  a  public  library,  a  normal  school,  a  famous  university, 
and  manufactures  of  cotton,  linen,  and  flannel.  Quito  reckons 
among  her  sons  distinguished  painters,  among  whom  is  mentioned 
a  half-breed  named  Santiago,  who  was  eminent  in  the  seventeenth 
century;  wood-carving  is  carried  on  by  some  Indians  and  half- 
breeds,  great  makers  of  images  of  the  Virgin  and  of  Christ.  Char- 
ton  praises  the  nobility  of  type,  the  variety  of  their  dress  and  the 
innate  good  taste  which,  even  in  the  lowest  classes,  is  shown  in  the 
cut  of  their  garments  and  the  harmonious  and  picturesque  com- 
bination of  colors;  nowhere,  even  among  the  more  gifted  races,  is 
artistic  feeling  found  in  equal  degree. 

After  Quito,  Guayaquil,  with  30,000  inhabitants,  is  the  most 
important  town  of  the  republic.  The  port  of  Guayaquil  has  an 
almost  complete  monopoly  of  the  trade  in  so-called  "  Panama " 
hats,  whose  manufacture  is  peculiar  to  Ecuador.  The  best  are  made 
in  the  village  of  Monte  Cristo,  of  the  leaf  named  toquilla.  Cuenca, 
the  capital  of  the  province  of  Assuay  and  the  third  city  of  the  state, 
has  25,000  inhabitants;  it  carries  on  an  important  trade  in  grain, 
has  several  sugar  refineries  and  a  cotton  mill.  In  its  neighborhood 
traces  of  the  great  highway  of  the  incas  may  be  seen. 

On  the  dissolution  of  the  republic  of  Colombia,  in  1831, 
Ecuador  included  the  three  departments  of  Ecuador,  Guayaquil, 
and  Assuay.  The  new  republic  was  divided  into  seven  provinces, 
which  later  were  increased  to  twelve:     Pichincha  or  Quito,  Im- 


ECUADOR  107 

1831-1834  ^"' 

babiira,  Chimborazo,  Leon,  Esmeraldas,  Guayaquil,  Manabi,  As- 
suay,  Loja,  Tienguregua,  Los  Rios  and  Oriente,  forming  the  three 
departments  of  Pichincha,  Guayas,  and  Assuay;  more  commonly 
designated  by  the  names  of  their  capitals — Quito,  Guayaquil,  and 
Cuenca. 

Unlike  the  other  two  fragments  of  the  old  republic  of  Colom- 
bia, the  political  parties  in  Ecuador  were  not  Federalists  and  Uni- 
tarians, but  Conservatives  and  Democrats.  According  to  law  the 
inhabitants  of  Ecuador  are  all  equally  free,  and  neither  titles,  nobil- 
ity, nor  honorary  distinctions  are  recognized.  Slavery  was  finally 
abolished  in  1854.  But  it  does  not  follow  that  the  lot  of  the 
aborigines  was  greatly  improved  thereby.  They  are  always  em- 
ployed in  the  bearing  of  heavy  burdens  and  left  alone  in  their 
misery  and  ignorance.  They  are  forcibly  enrolled  to  serve  as  pri- 
vate soldiers,  because  the  whites  refuse  to  serve  the  army  except  as 
officers.  "  By  a  just  retribution  this  tyranny  has  been  disastrous 
for  the  oppressors  themselves,"  says  Charton ;  "  the  Spaniards,  by 
trying  to  keep  to  themselves  the  privilege  of  working  the  riches 
of  the  country,  have  decimated  the  aboriginal  races  and  kept  for- 
eigners away.  .  .  .  Industry  and  agriculture  are  in  want  of 
hands,  colonial  enterprises,  which  might  give  such  strength  and 
greatness  to  the  country,  cannot  be  developed  or  even  established, 
and  territories  of  wonderful  fertility  lie  completely  uncultivated." 

From  the  date  when  it  was  formed  into  an  independent  re- 
public Ecuador  has  been  almost  continually  disturbed  by  civil  wars 
and  wars  with  the  neighboring  states.  From  the  beginning  it  was 
in  armed  conflict  with  New  Granada  for  the  possession  of  the 
provinces  of  Fopayan,  Buenaventura,  and  Pasto,  so  favorable  for 
its  communications  wath  the  Pacific.  The  Granadine  troops  re- 
pulsed an  invasion  of  Pasto  led  by  Presiaent  Flores,  and  on  Decem- 
ber 8,  1 83 1,  a  treaty  was  signed  which  sanctioned  the  union  of  the 
provinces  in  dispute  with  New  Granada,  but  was  not  ratified  by 
Ecuador  until  four  years  later.  Juan  Jose  Flores,  the  companion- 
in-arms  and  friend  of  Bolivar,  found  support  among  the  partisans 
of  the  Liberator.  His  triumph  might  have  changed  the  fate  of  New 
Granada,  but  after  his  defeat  he  had  to  confine  himself  to  the 
achievement  of  his  ambitions  for  the  independence  of  Ecuador, 
of  which  he  was  the  first  president.  He  led  the  Conservative 
party,  and  had  to  fight  against  the  Liberals,  under  Vicente  Roca- 
fuerte.    In  1834  a  revolutionary  movement  broke  out  in  Quito,  and 


108  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1834-1839 

declared  Flores  an  outlaw.  He  was  defeated  in  Guayaquil,  but  in 
a  short  time  gained  an  advantage  over  his  opponent,  whom  he  made 
prisoner  in  Quito.  The  victory  of  January  i8,  1835,  was  de- 
cisive, although  some  generals  attempted  to  keep  the  field,  and  three 
of  them  came  forsvard  to  attack  the  government  that  same  year. 
One  of  them  was  taken  and  shot  with  twenty-three  of  his  soldiers. 
The  other  two  fled  over  the  frontier.  Flores  was  never  without 
such  rivals  to  contend  with.  He  and  Rocafuerte  were  again  recon- 
ciled (May,  1835),  and  an  Assembly,  which  was  specially  called  for 
the  purpose,  met  on  August  9  in  Ambato,  and  gave  a  constitution 
to  Ecuador.  Rocafuerte  was  elected  president,  and  Flores  appointed 
commander-in-chief  of  the  army. 

Rocafuerte  was  born  at  Guayaquil  in  1783  and  had  studied 
in  France,  at  the  college  of  Saint-Germain-en-Laye.  In  1803  he  met 
Bolivar  at  Paris  and  they  became  friends.  Animated  by  liberal 
ideas,  imbued  with  revolutionary  principles,  and  fortified  by  read- 
ing the  publicists  of  the  eighteenth  century,  he  returned  to  the 
bosom  of  his  suffering  country  to  take  part  in  her  first  attempts  at 
emancipation.  He  was  a  deputy  for  the  province  of  Guayaquil 
in  the  Spanish  Cortes  in  1812,  but  was  soon  obliged  to  flee  from  the 
Peninsula.  He  traveled  through  Europe,  visited  the  United  States, 
and  afterward  resided  in  Mexico.  He  was  a  distinguished  writer, 
and  always  showed  himself  an  ardent  defender  of  democratic  ideas; 
as  president,  he  proved  himself  a  good  administrator;  reduced  the 
chaotic  finances  to  order,  organized  public  instruction,  established 
colleges,  a  military  school,  and  an  agricultural  institute  and  ap- 
pointed a  commission  to  draw  up  a  civil  and  a  penal  code,  which  the 
legislature  discussed  and  passed  in  1837.  He  renewed  diplomatic 
relations  with  Spain,  and  Ecuador  was  the  second  Spanish-American 
republic  whose  independence  was  recognized  by  the  old  mother- 
country.  In  religious  matters  his  policy  was  highly  liberal  and  in 
harmony  with  modern  ideas;  he  never  made  a  compromise  with 
fanaticism,  nor  contracted  unworthy  alliances  with  the  clergy,  as 
after  him,  some  vulgar  politicians  did,  in  order  to  convert  them  to 
their  [)crsonal  views.  In  his  message  of  1839  he  expressed  his  opin- 
ion with  the  greatest  freedom  on  the  necessity  of  establishing  relig- 
ious toleration,  not  only  with  respect  to  matters  of  conscience,  but 
also  as  a  means  of  favoring  immigration  and  promoting  the  prog- 
ress of  the  republic.  Under  his  able  direction  the  country  passed 
through  a  period  of  calm  and  prosperity.    In  the  same  year  (1839) 


ECUADOR  109 

1839-1847 

Flores  succeeded  Rocafuerte,  who  was  appointed  ^i^overnor  of  Guay- 
aquil. 

The  most  important  act  of  the  second  presidency  of  Flores 
was  the  decree  of  March  27,  1839,  which  opened  the  ports  of 
Ecuador  to  the  commerce  and  ships  of  Spain,  and  which  had 
as  a  consequence,  in  1841,  a  formal  treaty  of  peace  and  friendship 
between  the  two  nations.  A  convention,  which  met  at  Quito,  re- 
vised the  constitution  of  1835,  '^^'^^  substituted  for  it  a  new  one, 
proclaimed  on  March  31,  1843.  Rocafuerte,  who  was  a  member 
of  the  Assembly,  energetically  protested  against  the  mutilation  of 
the  Compact  of  Ambato.  His  firm  and  patriotic  language  on  this 
occasion  stirred  up  so  much  enmity  that  he  judged  it  opportune  to 
leave  the  country ;  he  voluntarily  expatriated  himself  and  fixed  his 
residence  in  Lima,  whence  he  undertook  the  task  of  supporting  his 
principles  by  his  pen. 

At  the  beginning  of  1843  Flores  was  reelected  for  the  third 
time;  the  conflict  between  him  and  the  Liberals  became  more 
decided  every  day.  A  revolution  which  broke  out  in  Guayaquil 
on  March  6,  1845,  overthrew  him.  Rocafuerte,  who  had  led 
the  movement,  did  not  reap  any  advantage  from  it,  and  it  was 
Vincente  Roca,  a  mulatto,  who  was  raised  to  the  presidency.  Roca- 
fuerte was  elected  for  the  province  of  Pichincha,  in  the  convention 
which  met  at  Cuenca,  was  afterward  senator  for  four  provinces, 
was  appointed  in  1846  president  of  the  Senate,  and  helped  to  intro- 
duce trial  by  jury  in  criminal  causes.  Flores  agreed  to  leave  the 
territory  of  the  republic  with  the  title  of  commander-in-chief  and 
the  annual  pay  of  80^000  francs ;  and  several  attempts  made  by  him 
to  enter  Ecuador  and  again  seize  power  failed  completely.  He  has 
been  even  charged  with  the  project  of  attacking  Ecuador  with  an 
army  recruited  in  Europe.  Rocafuerte  was  charged  by  Congress  to 
come  to  an  understanding  with  the  states  of  Peru,  Bolivia,  and 
Chili,  for  repelling  any  expedition  of  this  kind,  and  at  the  same 
time  was  appointed  plenipotentiary  for  Ecuador  in  the  American 
Congress  that  was  to  meet  at  Lima.  He  fell  ill  on  his  arrival  in 
that  city  in  December,  1846,  and  died  there  May  7,  1847,  bequeath- 
ing his  library  to  the  college  at  Guayaquil.  In  him  his  country 
lost  a  great  citizen,  and  America  an  enthusiastic  defender  of  her 
independence.  The  Congress  ordered  the  removal  of  his  body  to 
Guayaquil. 

A  dispute  arose  with  New  Granada  which  gave  rise  to  some 


110  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1846-1859 

military  movements,  but  it  was  ended  by  a  treaty  signed  in  Santa 
Rosa  de  Carchi  on  May  29,  1846.  Roca  made  a  treaty  of  commerce 
with  Belgium  and  a  convention  with  England  for  the  abolition  of 
slavery.  On  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office,  in  October,  1849, 
parties  not  being  able  to  agree,  the  executive  power  was  provision- 
ally entrustd  to  the  vice-president,  Manuel  Ascasubi.  The  excite- 
ment was  great,  and  still  more  so  when  the  clerical  party  had  suc- 
ceeded in  electing  Diego  Noboa  to  the  presidency,  and  he  recalled 
the  Jesuits  and  gave  shelter  and  protection  to  the  Conservative 
fugitives  from  New  Granada.  Noboa  replied  to  the  threats  of 
New  Granada  by  sending  some  troops  to  the  frontier;  but  General 
Jose  Maria  Urbina,  who  commanded  them,  only  put  himself  at  their 
head  to  overthrow  the  president.  The  unpopular  ruler  was  deposed 
by  a  Junta  assembled  at  Guayaquil  in  July,  1851,  was  arrested  and 
expelled  from  the  territory  of  the  republic.  Urbina  was  appointed 
dictator  and  established  the  government  in  Guayaquil,  the  ultra- 
democratic  party  triumphing  in  his  person.  Flores  sought  to  reap 
an  advantage  from  the  irritation  of  the  Conservatives,  and  at- 
tempted a  coup  de  main  with  the  connivance  of  the  Lima  govern- 
ment. He  anchored  in  the  waters  of  Guayaquil  at  the  head  of  a 
squadron  on  ]\Iarch  14,  1852,  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  reestab- 
lishing Xoboa  as  the  sole  legitimate  president,  but  was  betrayed 
by  his  crew  and  fled  to  Peru.  His  failure  naturally  had  no  other 
result  than  to  strengthen  Urbina.  The  latter  resigned  in  1856. 
and  General  Robles  succeeded  him,  defeating  the  Conservatives. 
Robles,  by  a  law  of  December  6,  1856,  established  a  decimal  system 
of  money,  weights  and  measures,  for  the  republic.  This  important 
reform  of  commercial  law  was  effected  in  1858. 

The  Clerical  or  Conserv-ative  party  redoubled  their  efforts. 
Grave  difficulties  arose  in  home  affairs,  and  quarrels  with  the 
neighboring  states  became  more  bitter.  A  dispute  with  Peru,  a 
not  very  scrupulous  neighbor,  about  some  waste  lands  on  the 
frontiers,  led  to  the  blockade  of  the  ports  of  Ecuador,  in  spite  of 
the  offers  of  mediation  of  New  Granada  and  Chili  (November, 
1S58).  Robles  and  Urbina,  "the  twins,"  as  they  were  called,  put 
themselves  at  the  head  of  the  army;  General  Guillermo  Franco, 
appointed  to  defend  Guayaquil,  signed  a  treaty  with  the  leader  of 
the  Peruvian  squadron  August  21,  1859,  by  which  the  blockade 
was  raised,  but  the  president  refused  to  ratify  this  convention;  two 
msurrections  broke  out,  one  in  Guayaquil  and  another  in  Quito,  a 


ECUADOR  111 

1859-1861 

provisional  government  being  formed  in  each  city.  Robles  and 
Urbina  were  obliged  to  flee,  and  sought  refuge  in  ChiH.  The  revo- 
lutionaries in  Guayaquil  placed  in  power  General  Franco,  who  took 
the  title  of  Supreme  Head^  named  a  ministry,  and  allied  himself 
with  Peru;  but  this  power,  which  had  to  contend  with  a  French 
squadron,  could  not  aid  him.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Conservatives 
of  Quito  put  at  their  head  a  professor  of  chemistry,  Gabriel  Garcia 
Moreno,  a  son-in-law  of  Flores.  This  old  general,  entrusted  with 
the  command  of  the  army,  defeated  Franco  at  Babahoyo,  August 
8,  i860,  and  entered  Guayaquil  on  September  14  following.  Prose- 
cuting, for  the  advantage  of  the  country,  the  interminable  quarrel 
with  Peru  respecting  the  boundaries,  he  invaded  the  cantons  of 
Napo,  Canelos,  and  Quijos;  Peru  was  at  that  time  fully  occupied 
elsewhere  and  could  not  protest  against  this  act.  The  triumvirs 
of  Quito  on  July  8,  1861,  called  a  National  Assembly,  which  elected 
Dr.  Moreno  as  president,  while  Flores  received  the  important  title 
of  Governor  of  Guayaquil. 

Moreno,  a  well-educated  man,  who  united  very  fine  qualities 
to  the  defects  inherent  in  his  country  and  race,  had  been  proscribed 
in  his  youth.  He  employed  the  years  of  his  exile  in  London  and 
Paris  in  studying  the  institutions  and  administrative  organization  of 
the  old  world,  hoping  to  be  able  some  day  to  take  back  to  his  country 
the  fruits  of  his  observations  and  labors.  He  belonged  to  one  of 
the  oldest  Spanish  families,  and  the  Conservative  party,  appreciat- 
ing his  superior  intelligence,  set  all  their  hopes  on  him.  On  coming 
into  power,  Moreno  found  the  finances  in  a  wretched  state.  The 
public  revenue  did  not  amount  to  $1,000,000;  the  treasury  was 
driven  to  makeshifts  to  obtain  money,  and  was  borrowing  at  20 
per  cent,  and  public  officers  were  unpaid.  Moreno  gave  up  his 
salary  of  $20,000  to  be  applied  to  works  of  public  utility.  His 
activity  was  directed  to  the  most  urgent  material  reforms.  To  him 
are  owing  the  construction  of  roads  from  the  mountainous  regions 
to  the  coast,  the  formation  of  a  new  port  in  El  Pailon.  between  the 
mouths  of  the  Rivers  Mina  and  Esmeralda,  the  establishment  of  a 
telegraphic  line  between  the  capital  and  Guayaquil,  and  the  founda- 
tion of  the  mint  and  the  hospital  of  Quito.  He  was  well  supported 
at  first,  but  gradually  saw  his  popularity  decreasing.  The  forced 
currency  of  paper  money  caused  discontent,  and  a  concordat  with 
Rome,  which  made  over  part  of  the  public  authority  to  the  Church, 
gave  rise  to  bitter  criticism.    It  was  soon  known  that  the  president, 


112  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1861-1863 

despairing  of  overcoming  the  difficulties  of  the  situation  without 
foreign  help,  had  sought  the  protection  of  France.  Rumors  of 
annexation  to  Spain  had  afterward  become  so  persistent  that 
the  Peruvian  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  thought  it  his  duty  to 
invite,  by  his  circular  of  August,  1861,  the  Spanish-American  gov- 
ernments to  unite,  in  order  to  prevent  such  annexation. 

His  private  correspondence  with  a  French  diplomatist,  pub- 
lished in  Lima,  raised  a  veritable  tempest  against  him.  All  America 
was  indignant,  and  there  was  talk  of  forming  a  league  to  overthrow 
him  as  a  traitor  to  American  independence.  Peru,  which  felt  her- 
self threatened  more  than  any  other  country,  increased  her  efforts 
to  combat  him.  The  election  of  a  new  president  of  Peru,  at  the 
moment  when  diplomatic  relations  were  broken  off  and  war  was 
probable,  freed  Ecuador  from  all  danger  on  that  side;  but  New 
Granada  was  very  unfriendly.  Her  government  put  forward 
many  grievances.  In  their  view,  Moreno  was  not  only  the  man  who 
demanded  European  intervention,  but  also  the  ultra-Conserv^ative, 
who,  recently,  in  the  struggle  between  the  Democratic  party  of 
Mosquera,  and  the  Conservative  party  of  Arboleda,  had  sturdily 
fought  for  the  latter,  promising  to  recognize  him  as  the  head 
of  the  Neo-Granadine  Confederation.  On  August  15,  1863, 
Mosquera  asked  the  Ecuadorians  to  overthrow  the  established 
government,  and  to  join  with  him  to  federalize  the  three  nations 
which  previously  had  formed  the  Republic  of  Colombia.  In  this 
sense  he  proposed,  on  September  29,  a  treaty  that  Moreno  refused 
to  sign.  Mosquera,  advancing  toward  the  frontier,  declared  in  a 
proclamation  that  he  desired  to  liberate  "  our  brother  Democrats 
of  Ecuador  from  the  theocratic  yoke  of  Professor  Moreno."  The 
President  of  Ecuador  was  authorized  by  the  Chambers,  who  sup- 
ported him  with  patriotic  enthusiasm,  to  declare  that  the  country 
was  in  danger.  On  November  22  the  aged  Flores,  at  the  head  of 
6000  men,  invaded  the  territory  of  New  Granada,  explaining  this 
blundering  strategy  by  the  necessity  of  carrying  the  war  into  the 
enemy's  country  rather  than  give  up  to  invasion  one  of  the  richest 
provinces  of  Ecuador.  On  December  6  he  found  himself  in  front 
of  the  army  of  Mosquera,  in  Cuaspud.  Before  the  battle  Mosquera 
said :  "  They  are  6000  men,  but  I  have  4000  soldiers."  The  rout 
of  the  Ecuadorian  army  was  lamentable;  it  lost  1500  in  killed, 
wounded,  and  missing,  and  2000  prisoners,  and  all  its  artillery. 
Tlie  republic  seemed  lost  and  thought  of  throwing  itself  into  the 


ECUADOR  113 

1863-1864 

hands  of  Peru;  but  Mosquera  showed  himself  generous.  Called 
away  by  other  duties,  he  contented  himself  with  imposing  a  treaty 
of  peace  on  the  vanquished,  which  was  signed  December  30,  1863, 
at  the  farm  of  Pensaqui.  This  compact  was  limited  to  placing  the 
relations  of  the  two  countries  in  their  previous  state;  Mosquera 
abandoned  the  use  of  force  to  convert  Ecuador  into  an  integral  part 
of  the  United  States  of  Colombia. 

Such  trials  did  not  tend  to  raise  the  prestige  of  the  Con- 
servative party.  The  power  of  the  president,  shaken  by  two  succes- 
sive defeats,  appeared  from  that  moment  unable  to  assure  the  secur- 
ity of  the  country.  Moreno  showed  himself  ready  to  resign  his 
office,  but  in  March,  1864,  the  Congress  decided  that  he  must  keep 
it,  and  he  would  have  recovered  his  prestige  in  public  opinion  if  he 
had  not  weakened  it  by  proposing  new  laws,  which  sacrificed  the 
rights  of  the  state  to  the  interests  of  the  Church.  Thus  the  modifica- 
tions introduced  the  preceding  year  into  the  concordat  entered 
into  with  Rome  in  1862,  the  publication  of  which  had  been  sus- 
pended, were  suppressed.  By  the  president's  influence  the  Congress 
bent  before  the  will  of  the  Holy  See,  that  is  to  say,  it  left  the  clergy 
under  the  immediate  jurisdiction  of  their  ecclesiastical  superiors. 
The  contract  entered  into  with  the  Jesuits  for  the  supervision  of  a 
certain  number  of  colleges  was  approved,  and  the  opening  of  schools 
of  the  Brethren  of  the  Christian  Doctrine,  supported  by  the  tax- 
payers, was  decreed.  Nevertheless,  when,  after  ratifying  the  treaty 
of  peace  with  New  Granada,  passing  a  law  of  expropriation  for  the 
opening  of  public  roads,  organizing  the  police,  voting  the  budget 
and  reducing,  for  reasons  of  economy,  the  standing  army  to  less 
than  1000  men,  the  Congress  closed  on  April  18,  1864,  Moreno 
thought  himself  sufficiently  secure  at  home.  But  the  situation  was 
less  reassuring  abroad.  Although  peace  had  been  arranged  with 
the  United  States  of  Colombia,  the  tempest  was  always  rumbling 
on  the  side  of  Peru.  Solely  to  clear  himself,  Moreno  sent  a  pleni- 
potentiary to  the  Congress  of  Lima,  instructed  to  examine  a  project 
of  union  between  the  American  republics ;  when  Spain,  threatening 
Peru,  occupied  the  Chincha  Islands,  he  followed  an  ambiguous  line 
of  conduct,  which  formed  a  painful  contrast  to  the  proofs  ^  of 
sympathy  that  the  other  states  of  America  lavished  on  the  Peruvian 
cause. 

Peru,  engaged  in  her  war  with  Spain,  was  not  to  be  feared 
for  the  moment ;  but  the  rupture  encouraged  the  hopes  of  the  party 


114.  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1864-1865 

hostile  to  Moreno,  whose  most  active  chief.  Urbina,  had  taken 
refuge  on  the  Peruvian  frontier,  encouraged  and  even  aided  by  the 
Cabinet  of  Lima.  Under  such  conditions,  Moreno  had  to  oppose 
new  revohitionary  movements,  which  sprang  up  one  after  another. 
The  first  broke  out  in  Guayaquil  in  May;  the  second  in  the  city 
of  Quito  itself,  at  the  end  of  June.  In  August,  Urbina  threw 
the  vanguard  of  his  partisans  on  the  Ecuadorian  territory.  The 
aged  Flores  was  preparing  to  march  against  him,  when  death  seized 
him  in  Guayaquil,  removing  in  him  one  of  the  last  survivors  of  the 
War  of  Independence,  the  father  of  the  Ecuadorian  republic,  the 
man  who  during  forty  years  had  exercised  so  lamentable  an  in- 
fluence on  affairs.  Moreno  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  troops. 
The  struggle  was  short.  In  November  the  province  of  Loja,  the 
headquarters  of  the  insurrection,  was  pacified,  and  Urbina  was 
driven  into  the  Peruvian  territor}^  The  president,  among  other 
measures  of  repression,  ordered  the  execution  of  General  Mal- 
donado,  the  chief  organizer  of  the  movement  in  Quito;  and  after 
his  victory  he  proclaimed  an  amnesty,  from  which  the  leaders  of  the 
insurrection  alone  were  excepted. 

Public  works,  forcibly  interrupted,  were  actively  recommenced, 
in  spite  of  the  deplorable  condition  of  the  exchequer.  A  new  emis- 
sion of  legal  tender  paper  money  permitted  the  sanitary  works  in 
Quito  to  be  continued,  the  establishment  of  a  road  to  unite  this  city 
with  Guayaquil,  and  the  rebuilding  of  the  edifices  destroyed  by  the 
earthquake  of  1859.  An  English  company  undertook  to  open  an 
important  road  of  communication  in  return  for  a  concession  of  the 
lands  adjoining  it.  The  president,  who  saw  the  end  of  his  term  of 
office  approaching,  was  impatient  to  finish  the  useful  works  with 
which  he  wished  to  endow  his  countr>\  Unfortunately,  everything 
was  projected  but  nothing  yet  finished.  By  a  clever  policy  he  put 
an  end  to  the  enmity  of  the  Peruvian  Cabinet,  and  made  terms  with 
New  Granada.  At  this  period  the  use  of  postage  stamps  was  in- 
troduced.   Commerce  appeared  to  revive,  and  the  country  was  quiet. 

The  elections  came  on.  Those  of  the  provincial  and  cantonal 
chiefs  and  councilors,  which  took  place  in  December,  gave  a  major- 
ity to  the  Conservative  or  Government  party;  the  presidential  elec- 
tions were,  a  few  months  later,  to  secure  it  the  victory.  The  op- 
position put  up  as  a  candidate  a  man  of  influence,  the  late  president 
of  the  Senate,  Gomez  de  la  Torre;  nevertheless,  Jeronimo  Carrion, 
who  was  the  nominee  of  Moreno  himself,  gained  the  day  on  May 


ECUADOR  115 

1&65-1867 

I,  1865,  by  21,733  votes  against  821 1  obtained  by  his  competitor. 
It  appears  that  the  president  used  means  of  doubtful  legahty  to 
secure  the  success  of  his  candidate.  Moreno  received  the  govern- 
ment of  Guayaquil,  which  he  was  to  hold  on  quitting  the  presidency. 
In  the  meantime  Urbina  maintained  himself  continually  on  the 
Peruvian  frontier;  he  took  by  surprise,  on  May  31,  the  Guayas, 
the  only  vessel  of  war  possessed  by  the  republic,  put  the  crew  to 
death,  procured,  besides,  three  small  steamers,  and  blockaded  the 
port.  Moreno  went  against  him,  seized  an  English  steamer  at 
anchor  in  the  port,  paying  three  times  its  value  upon  the  remon- 
strances of  the  consul,  and  put  on  a  crew  of  150  men,  and  succeeded 
in  arming  another  merchant  steamer.  Then  he  put  to  sea,  attacked 
the  Urbinists,  defeated  them,  seized  their  squadron  and  shot  ninety- 
seven  prisoners.  The  correspondence  of  Urbina,  which  was  taken 
with  his  baggage,  compromised  many  Liberals.  Some  were  con- 
demned to  death,  and  the  property  of  others  was  confiscated.  Peru, 
also,  was  struggling  under  the  efforts  of  rival  parties.  Moreno 
thought  this  a  favorable  moment  to  revenge  himself  on  that  countr}^ 

A  new  minister  plenipotentiary  being  appointed  to  Quito,  he 
refused  to  recognize  him  unless  the  Peruvian  Government  admitted 
itself  a  debtor  to  the  Republic  of  Ecuador  for  $1,500,000  as  an  in- 
demnity for  the  support  that  Urbina  had  found  at  Lima.  This  did 
not  in  any  way  prevent  Ecuador  adhering,  in  the  following  year, 
to  a  treaty  of  alliance,  offensive  and  defensive,  already  signed  be- 
tween Chili  and  Peru,  to  resist  Spain,  and  on  this  occasion  a  postal 
convention  was  signed  with  the  Cabinet  of  Valparaiso,  which  for 
some  years  had  broken  off  diplomatic  relations  with  Ecuador. 

The  presidency  of  Carrion  was  at  first  tranquil  enough.  A 
man  of  modest  habits  and  simple  tastes.  Carrion  left  his  estate 
for  the  first  time  when  he  came  to  Quito  to  take  possession  of 
power.  He  understood  the  difficulties  of  the  position  from  the  be- 
ginning. Carrion  was  the  nominee  of  IMoreno,  who  reckoned  upon 
continuing  his  work  under  his  name,  and  making  him  act  in  con- 
formity with  his  wishes ;  but  Carrion  left  politics  to  his  friend  Busta- 
mante.'  This  minister  was  justly  unpopular,  and  took  advantage  of 
his  position  to  make  himself  absolute.  Two  senators  and  three 
deputies  were  arrested  on  the  very  steps  of  the  Congress  House. 
Carrion  and  Bustamante,  accused  of  this  deed,  decided  to  dissolve 
the  Chamber  by  force,  but  this  coup  d'etat  failed  miserably.  The 
minister  fell,  and  Carrion  had  no  other  alternative  than  to  associate 


116  SOUTH    AMERICA  ^^^^^^^^ 

.Moreno  with  himself  in  the  government.  The  latter  continued  to 
be  the  most  popular  chief  of  the  Conservative  party,  was  made 
commander-in-chief  of  the  troops,  and  made  use  of  them  to  rebel 
against  Carrion.  On  the  night  of  November  5  Congress  declared 
that  the  president  had  made  himself  "  unworthy  of  the  high  posi- 
tion to  which  the  popular  confidence  had  raised  him."  Before  this 
sentence,  which  Moreno  himself  came  to  pronounce,  Carrion  re- 
signed his  office.  According  to  the  constitution,  the  vice-president, 
Arteta,  was  invested,  in  the  interim,  with  supreme  power.  Espinosa 
was  elected  president  on  January  29,  1868.  In  the  following  year 
General  Veintemila  rose  against  Espinosa  with  all  the  artillery 
which  was  under  his  command,  but  was  killed  in  entering  the  city 
of  Guayaquil. 

In  1869  the  constitution  underwent  modifications,  in  virtue 
of  which  the  power  passed  into  the  hands  of  Moreno  for  the  period 
of  six  years.  The  support  given  to  the  missions,  undertaken  by 
the  fathers  in  Quito,  in  September,  1874,  and  above  all  the  sending 
to  the  Pope  of  more  than  $200,000  from  the  funds  of  the  state, 
excited  men's  minds,  and  insurrections  broke  out  in  various  places, 
which  the  government  met  by  declaring  martial  law  in  the  provinces 
of  Guayas,  Assuay,  and  Manabi.  At  the  end  of  his  second  term 
in  the  presidency,  Moreno,  in  defiance  of  the  constitution,  solicited 
the  suffrages  of  his  fellow-citizens  for  the  third  time.  This  was  his 
death  warrant.  On  August  6  three  assassins  fell  upon  him,  clove 
his  skull  with  the  stroke  of  a  cutlass,  and  riddled  him  with  bullets. 
Such  was  the  tragical  end  of  this  man  who  deserves  condemnation 
fur  having  been  j^eremptory  by  instinct  and  on  principle,  and  too 
vi(jlent  and  extremely  severe  in  his  repressive  measures.  It  is  right 
to  ackn(nvledge.  nevertheless,  that  during  the  years  of  his  dicta- 
torship very  great  progress  was  made.  The  receipts  of  the  ex- 
chequer rose  in  the  year  of  his  death  to  $3,000,000.  The  registered 
debt  was  to  be  extinguished  in  1876,  and  the  floating  debt  did  not 
amount  to  more  than  about  $1,400,000. 

In  spite  of  military  insurrections,  in  spite  of  being  continually 
threatened  and  coveted  by  its  neighbors,  on  account  of  its  weak- 
ness, the  Republic  of  Ecuador  had  prospered  in  some  degree,  seeing 
Its  commerce  develop  and  its  means  of  communication  increase. 
There  were  more  than  187  miles  of  high  roads,  250  miles  of  bridle 
roads,  a  railway  begun,  and  many  wire  bridges,  to  replace  the 
swmg  bridges  of  osier,   on   which  travelers   are   suspended   over 


1876 


ECUADOR  117 


the  abysses.  Its  dissensions,  the  financial  disorder,  the  scarcely 
repaired  disasters  of  the  terrible  earthquake  of  1859,  were  not  suffi- 
cient to  prevent  Ecuador  from  bearing  witness  to  her  sympathy 
for  stricken  France.  Her  subscription  for  the  liberation  of  French 
territory  from  Germany  exceeded  $5000.  The  country  had  hardly 
entered  on  the  path  of  economic  progress;  it  was  evident  that,  with 
time,  this  republic  might  become  one  of  the  most  prosperous  coun- 
tries of  young  America. 

The  strategic  position  of  its  capital,  the  mildness  of  its  climate, 
the  fertility  of  its  soil,  which  in  richness  rivals  that  of  Peru,  the 
communication  that  the  River  Amazon  allows  it  to  open  with 
Europe,  all  promise  it  an  agreeable  future ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
is  necessary  for  the  people  to  be  rescued  from  the  state  of  dull  igno- 
rance and  superstition  in  which  intolerant  priests  and  friars  keep 
them,  and  on  the  other  that  new  immigrants  come  to  replace  or  at 
least  to  replenish  the  primitive  population,  which  has  been  decimated 
or  dispersed  by  a  stupid  administration.  The  Ecuadorians  are  well 
fitted  for  manufacturing.  By  very  primitive  methods,  they  produce 
carpets  remarkable  for  the  quality  of  the  weaving,  the  beauty  of 
the  designs,  and  the  brilliance  of  the  colors.  The  introduction  of 
machinery  has  permitted  the  abilities  of  this  people,  reduced  for  a 
long  time  to  supply  by  patience,  ingenuity,  and  application,  the  in- 
sufficient means  and  instruments  of  fabrication,  to  be  utilized. 
Agriculture,  for  the  study  of  which  a  school  has  been  founded, 
progresses  slowly;  but  the  means  of  communication,  which  join  the 
elevated  tablelands  of  the  Andes  with  diflFerent  points  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  through  the  woods  and  valleys,  will  permit  of  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  means  of  cultivation  in  the  clearing  of  new  ground. 
Finally,  the  Republic  of  Ecuador  can  hope  for  no  solid  future  with- 
out European  colonization,  and  she  seems  at  last  to  understand  it. 
Immigration,  which  has  long  been  opposed,  ought  to  be  encouraged. 
The  immigrants  will  then  bring  the  help  of  their  hands  and  their 
brains  to  this  country  of  which  Europe  still  really  knows  nothing 
but  its  faults. 


Chapter    VIII 

THE    ARGENTINE    REPUBLIC.     1820-1876 

THE  Argentine  Republic  seems  destined  to  rival  the  United 
States  in  growth  and  activity.  There  is  no  better  field 
awaiting  exploitation  by  mankind.  Its  capital  would  be 
the  New  York  City  of  South  America  were  it  not  for  the  revolutions 
that  are  constantly  interrupting  its  agricultural  and  commercial  life ; 
but  it  is  satisfied  with  being  the  Athens  (at  least  such  is  its  boast), 
proud  as  it  justly  is  of  its  men  of  letters  and  poets,  Mitre,  Echevar- 
ria,  Marmol,  Gutierrez,  Sarmiento,  and  others.  Except  Brazil,  the 
Argentine  Republic  is  the  largest  country  on  the  southern  continent, 
and  the  settled  area  is  larger  than  Spain,  France  and  England.  It 
also  excels  in  the  number  and  importance  of  its  rivers,  which  are 
all  navigable  for  steamboats.  The  La  Plata,  w-hich  gives  its  name 
to  this  country,  is  one  of  the  finest  rivers  in  the  w'orld,  and  its 
estuary  is  a  small  sea  widening  out  from  25  to  187  miles.  It  runs 
from  north  to  south,  fed  by  numerous  tributaries,  among  them  the 
Parana,  which  can  be  navigated  for  750  miles  from  the  ocean. 

This  vast  region  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Bolivia,  on  the 
east  by  Paraguay,  Brazil  and  Uruguay,  on  the  west  by  Chili,  with 
which  country  it  marches  to  the  southern  extremity  of  the  conti- 
nent. It  is  divided  into  three  distinct  parts :  the  first,  closed  between 
the  Parana  and  the  Uruguay,  which  comprises  the  provinces  of 
I'jitre  Rios  and  Corrientes  and  the  old  territor)^  of  Misiones,  is 
the  Argentine  Mesopotamia :  the  second  skirts  the  chain  of  the 
Andes,  and  includes  the  mountainous  provinces  of  Mendoza,  San 
Juan,  Rioja,  Catamarca,  Tucuman,  Salta,  and  Jujuy.  The  third, 
which  extends  between  the  first  two,  with  vast  plains  and  natural 
pastures,  where  15,000,000  cattle,  4,000,000  horses,  and  80,000,000 
sheep  roam  at  will.  This  is  the  region  of  the  Pampas,  almost  per- 
fectly flat.  There  the  untamed  Indian,  a  terrible  enemy,  leads  his 
warlike  and  wandering  life,  and  the  indefatigable  Gaucho,  armed 
witli  the  lasso,  constantly  pursues  the  wild  herds.  The  region 
includes  the  territory  of  the  Argentine  Chaco,  the  non-mountainous 

118 


GAUCHOS    FOLLOWING    THE    CASSOWARY    OR    POCTH    AMERICAN    OSTRICH 

WITH     THE    BOLO 

Painting  by  Albert  Richter 


ARGENTINE    REPUBLIC  119 

1820 

part  of  the  provinces  of  Santiago  del  Estero,  Cordoba  and  San 
Luis,  and  the  whole  of  Sante  Fe  and  Buenos  Ayres ;  the  last  is  the 
center  of  political  and  commercial  life,  and  the  experimental  field 
of  emigration.  In  addition  to  these  provinces  there  are  ten  "  territo- 
ries." The  fourteen  provinces  mentioned  form  so  many  independent 
states,  as  far  as  concerns  their  internal  government,  and  collectively 
they  form  the  Argentine  Republic,  the  legislative  authority  of  which 
lies  in  a  Congress  composed  of  two  chambers.  The  deputies  are 
elected  by  the  people  at  the  ratio  of  one  for  every  33,000  inhabi- 
tants, and  there  are  two  senators  from  each  province  and  from  the 
capital  elected  by  the  provincial  legislatures,  and  in  the  capital  by 
a  special  body  of  electors.  The  executive  power  is  in  the  hands  of 
the  president  or  vice-president,  who  are  chosen  for  six  years,  and 
are  not  reeligible  until  the  lapse  of  a  full  presidential  term  after 
they  give  up  their  offices.  They  are  elected  by  special  electors 
chosen  by  the  people  of  the  several  provinces.  The  federal  judicial 
power  is  represented  by  a  court  of  justice  with  jurisdiction  of  suits 
between  different  provinces  or  different  officers  of  the  same  state. 

The  regular  census  of  the  population,  taken  for  the  first  time 
in  the  month  of  September,  1869,  made  a  total  of  1,877,490  inhab- 
itants, including  the  nomadic  Indians  of  the  Chaco,  the  Misiones, 
the  Pampas,  and  Patagonia,  reckoned  at  about  93,000.  The  popula- 
tion doubled  in  the  twenty  years  ending  1895,  and  in  consequence 
of  this  steady  progress  of  the  country  many  flourishing  agricultural 
colonies  settled  at  dift'erent  points.  Acclimatization  is  easy  for 
Europeans,  the  country  is  one  of  the  most  healthful  in  the  world, 
and  its  winter  is  like  spring  in  southern  France.  The  name  of 
Buenos  Ayres  comes  from  the  excellence  and  mildness  of  the 
climate.  Few  countries  are  so  rich  in  food  stuffs  and  the  raw 
materials  of  industry,  and  the  only  interruptions  of  prosperity  are 
the  frequent  revolutionary  outbreaks. 

The  Treaty  of  El  Pilar,  signed  in  1820,  recognized  the  equality 
of  all  the  provinces  and  their  right  to  take  part  in  forming  the 
national  government.  The  rout  of  the  monarchical  party  had  been 
complete,  but  Artigas  was  not  to  enjoy  his  triumph.  A  rebellion  of 
Ramirez,  one  of  his  generals,  obliged  him  to  seek  refuge  in  Para- 
guay, where  the  dictator,  Francia,  kept  him  shut  up  in  a  village.  He 
was  resigned  to  his  fate,  devoted  himself  to  agriculture,  was  like 
a  father  to  the  poor,  and  died  in  1826.  As  for  Ramirez,  he  fell 
mortally  wounded,  July  10,  1821,  under  the  walls  of  Buenos  Ayres. 


120  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1820-1826 

On  the  2 1  St  of  the  same  month  a  provincial  administrative  author- 
ity was  formed,  composed  of  a  governor,  General  Rodriguez;  a 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  and  of  the  Interior,  Rivadavia;  a  Min- 
ister of  War  and  Marine.  Cruz ;  and  a  Minister  of  Finance,  Garcia. 
Rivadavia,  an  upright  citizen,  an  able  diplomatist  and  an  enlight- 
ened administrator,  had  long  represented  the  insurgent  provinces 
of  La  Plata  in  Paris  and  London.  All  the  weight  of  public  business 
fell  upon  him.  Various  decrees  referring  to  the  establishment  of 
the  representative  system,  the  inviolability  of  property,  the  publica- 
tion of  the  acts  of  the  government,  the  liberty  of  the  press  and  the 
laws  on  civil,  political  and  religious  toleration  and  amnesty,  and 
the  law  relating  to  foreigners,  are  due  to  his  initiative.  Public  in- 
struction especially  engaged  his  attention.  Every  district  had  its 
elementary  scliool ;  a  university  and  various  schools,  a  savings  bank 
and  a  benevolent  society  were  founded;  and  navigation  and  the 
working  of  the  mines  were  favored.  It  is  especially  worthy  of 
notice  that  Buenos  Ayres  was  at  that  time  the  first  to  set  the  ex- 
ample of  suppressing  letters  of  marque. 

There  was  some  tranquillity  during  these  first  years  of  develop- 
ment, but  Brazil  lost  no  opportunity  of  disturbing  it.  Because 
of  intestine  struggles  in  ^Montevideo  she  had  occupied  it  under 
pretext  of  reestablishing  order,  and  had  annexed  the  territory  as 
the  Cisplatine  Province  (1S21).  A  party  opposed  to  the  supremacy 
of  Buenos  Ayres  and  of  Brazil  alike  was  formed  in  Montevideo, 
which  was  destined  to  triumph  later  and  transform  the  old  Banda 
Oriental,  after  a  long  war,  into  the  Republic  of  Uruguay. 

The  independence  of  the  Argentine  provinces  was  a  fact  that 
Spain  alone  disputed.  It  was  recognized  by  the  United  States  in 
1823,  and  acknowledged,  two  years  later,  by  England.  In  1824 
General  Las  Heras,  the  old  champion  of  liberty,  was  elected  to 
succeed  Rodriguez. 

Rivadavia,  at  that  time  provisional  governor,  proceeded  to 
the  installation  of  the  new  president,  and  voluntarily  laid  down 
his  office.  One  of  the  first  subjects  discussed  in  the  General  Con- 
gress of  the  United  Provinces  was  the  establishment  of  a  per- 
manent form  of  government.  The  constitution  of  December  24, 
1826,  confirmed  the  system  of  centralization  under  the  name  of  the 
Argentine  Republic,  and  gave  new  strength — while  appearing  to 
weaken  it — to  the  pretension  of  Buenos  Ayres  to  appoint  the  gov- 
ernors.^ Nothing  more  was  needed  to  set  the  match  to  the  powder 
magazine.     The  concession  to  the  provinces  of  the  right  to  name 


ARGENTINE     REPUBLIC  121 

1826-1827 

three  candidates  did  not  satisfy  them.  The  war,  which  had  been 
declared  for  some  months  between  Brazil  and  Buenos  Ayres,  made 
new  taxes  necessary  and  a  call  under  arms  of  all  citizens  between 
sixteen  and  forty  years  of  age.  These  measures  produced  disturb- 
ances in  Tucuman  and  Catamarca. 

In  the  meantime  Rivadavia,  who  had  been  raised  to  the 
supreme  magistracy  (February,  1825),  was  the  soul  of  the  Con- 
gress and  the  bond  of  friendship  between  the  republic  and  foreign 
nations.  In  the  midst  of  numberless  difficulties  he  had  negotiated 
a  loan  with  England,  and  invited  and  favored  immigration.  He 
fitted  out  a  small  squadron  under  the  command  of  the  English 
admiral,  Brown,  against  the  Brazilian  fleet,  then  blockading 
Buenos  Ayres,  which  defeated  the  enemy  in  detail,  but  was  not  able 
to  drive  him  away  completely.  Unfortunately  the  opposition  of  the 
provinces  to  the  constitution  of  1826  created  new  obstacles  for  him. 
Stanislas  Lopez  in  Santa  Fe,  Bustos  in  Cordoba  and  Quiroga  in 
the  west,  refused  to  recognize  the  supremacy  of  Buenos  Ayres, 
wishing  to  establish  a  federal  instead  of  a  centralized  system,  and 
the  people,  aroused  by  them,  refused  to  send  their  deputies  to  the 
Congress.  The  government  of  Buenos  Ayres  had  never  found  it- 
self in  a  more  critical  situation  than  at  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1827.  Besides  it  was  in  open  hostility  with  Colombia,  or  at  least 
with  Bolivar,  on  account  of  the  separation  of  the  provinces  of  Upper 
Peru,  which  were  formed  into  a  free  state  under  the  name  of  Bolivia, 
and  whose  independence  Buenos  Ayres  was  not  disposed  to  recog- 
nize. The  population  of  Buenos  Ayres  and  of  some  small  provinces 
was  in  reality  left  alone  to  fight  with  Brazil.  The  battle  of 
Ituzaingo  (February  20)  gave  the  victory  to  the  Argentine 
armies;  but  although  it  was  possible  to  hold  the  Brazilians  in  check, 
and  even  to  defeat  them  in  detail,  the  political  disorganization  of 
the  state  and  the  distress  in  which  the  country  was  plunged  did 
not  by  any  means  permit  of  following  them  up  and  gaining  a  com- 
plete victory.  Under  these  circumstances  Garcia  was  appointed  to 
carry  proposals  of  peace  to  Rio  Janeiro ;  but,  overstepping  the  in- 
structions he  had  received,  he  made  a  preliminary  convention  of 
May  13  by  which  Montevideo  with  its  territory  and  all  the  Banda 
Oriental  was  ceded  to  Brazil.  This  convention  excited  great  irrita- 
tion in  Buenos  Ayres.  The  government  disapproved  of  it  as  an 
attack  upon  the  honor  and  independence  of  the  nation,  and  the 
president,  at  the  same  time  that  he  communicated  this  resolution  to 
Congress,  presented  also  his  resignation  (June  28). 


122  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 


1827 


Rivadavia,  an  open  partisan  of  a  centralized  republic,  thought 
that,  in  the  present  state  of  men's  minds,  his  continuing  in 
the  presidency  was  one  more  obstacle  to  conciliation.  Vincente 
Lopez,  elected  provisionally  to  succeed  him,  took  the  oath  on 
July  7,  but  was  not  able,  under  such  grave  circumstances,  to  form  a 
Cabinet  immediately.  In  the  end  General  Balcarge  consented  to 
accept  the  Ministry  of  War,  and  Anchorena  that  of  Finance. 
Afterward  a  species  of  truce  was  established  between  the  parties; 
oblivion  of  the  past  was  spoken  of,  and  a  great  desire  was  shown 
to  sacrifice  private  ambitions  for  the  good  of  the  country  and  to 
avenge  the  insult  that  the  Garcia  treaty  had  given  to  the  Argentine 
flag.  By  unanimous  vote,  Unitarians  and  Federalists  declared  for 
the  continuance  of  the  war  with  Brazil.  The  enthusiasm  was  admir- 
able. The  president,  the  Cabinet  ministers  and  the  government 
officials  gave  up  part  of  their  salaries;  others,  like  Rivadavia,  un- 
dertook to  triple,  during  all  the  time  the  war  lasted,  the  taxes  levied 
upon  them.  Private  subscriptions  flowed  into  the  treasury,  the 
women  offered  their  jewels,  and  all,  as  far  as  their  means  allowed, 
contributed  to  encourage  men's  minds  and  alleviate  the  precarious 
state  of  the  national  finances.  The  enthusiasm  was  communicated 
to  the  separatist  provinces,  and  this  crisis  produced  the  salutary 
effect  of  disposing  men's  minds  to  conciliation.  Thanks  to  the 
prudent  firmness  of  Colonel  Dorrego,  who  was  elected  by  the  Fed- 
eralists, the  city  of  Buenos  Ayres  voluntarily  renounced  its  claim 
to  be  the  capital  and  center  of  government  of  the  republic.  A 
federal  diet  met  in  Santa  Fe,  to  continue  the  negotiations  with 
Brazil,  and  showed  itself  equally  decided  to  make  what  sacrifices 
were  necessary  to  suitably  support  the  honor  of  the  nation.  The 
two  belligerent  countries  felt  equally  the  necessity  of  putting  an  end 
to  a  state  of  things  so  disastrous  for  both.  A  treaty  of  peace 
was  concluded  on  .\ugust  27,  and  was  ratified  on  September  26 
by  the  Congress  of  Santa  Fe.  Brazil,  already  fatigued  by  a  con- 
flict of  ten  years,  abandoned  her  prey,  and  the  countries  which  were 
the  objects  of  the  strife,  being  invited  to  proceed  without  delay  to 
the  election  of  their  deputies,  met  in  a  constituent  assembly,  and 
proclaimed  the  independence  of  Montevideo  and  the  Banda  Oriental. 

But  soon  the  factional  strife  broke  out  again,  and  the  strug- 
gle recommenced.  The  Unitarians  under  the  influence  of  Lavalle, 
the  conqueror  of  Ituzaingo,  again  demanded  the  supremacy  of 
Buenos  Ayres  and  a  republic  one  and  indivisible.     Dorrego  held 


A  R  G  E  N  TINE     RE  P  U  li  L  I  C  l^a 

1827-1832 

the  reins  of  g-overnmcnt  with  a  firm  hanri ;  lie  had  had  tlic  i^ood 
fortune  to  reconcile  Buenos  Ayres  with  the  provinces,  and  the 
happiness  of  carrying  out  the  glorious  peace  of  August  27.  But 
his  federahst  principles  were  sufficient  cause  for  hostility  to  him  in 
Buenos  Ayres.  The  return  of  the  army  added  to  the  complication 
of  the  situation.  On  December  i,  Lavalle,  at  the  head  of  a  division, 
seized  the  Government  House,  and  seconded  by  Admiral  Brown,  had 
himself  appointed  provisional  dictator  of  the  state  by  the  notables 
assembled  in  the  Cabildo.  Dorrego  marched  to  Santa  Fe  and  de- 
manded the  support  of  the  federal  Congress ;  Lavalle  pursued  and 
overtook  him,  and  had  him  shot  December  9.  This  abominable  and 
barbarous  crime  was  the  signal  for  a  general  rising.  Congress  de- 
clared the  assassin,  Lavalle,  an  outlaw,  and  he  replied  by  a  declara- 
tion of  war;  at  the  end  of  1828  the  republic  was  given  up  to  all  the 
horrors  of  anarchy.  During  the  two  following  years  the  struggle 
between  Federalists  and  Unitarians  continued  with  fury,  the  former 
under  Lopez  and  Ouiroga,  and  the  latter  under  Lavalle.  The  Fed- 
eralists received  a  considerable  reinforcement  consisting  of  a  band 
of  Gauchos,  devoted  to  a  personage  who  was  soon  to  acquire  a  ter- 
rible notoriety,  Don  Juan  ^Manuel  Ortiz  de  Rosas. 

Rosas  was  at  that  time  thirty-five  years  old ;  he  had  passed  his 
youth  on  the  estates  of  his  family  among  half-savage  shepherds. 
He  had  strongly  marked  features,  lively  and  penetrating  blue  eyes, 
red  and  white  complexion  like  a  European,  and  tall  stature  like  a 
Gaucho.  He  appeared  for  the  first  time  on  the  political  stage  in 
1820,  at  the  head  of  his  colorados,  as  an  auxiliary  of  Rodriguez  and 
the  Unitarian  party ;  seven  years  later  he  rallied  his  peasants  again, 
but  this  time  to  aid  the  Federalists. 

Dorrego  had  made  him  a  general.  When  he  learned  the  tragical 
end  of  his  chief  he  hastened  with  his  troop  of  Gauchos,  gave  battle 
to  Lavalle,  and  routed  him.  The  Federalists  saluted  him  as  their  de- 
liverer, and  on  December  8,  1829,  he  was  appointed  governor  and 
captain-general  of  Buenos  Ayres.  In  1831  Lavalle  again  took  the 
offensive  in  the  province  of  Entre  Rios,  and  was  defeated  there  as 
Paz  was  at  the  same  time  in  the  province  of  Cordoba.  This  double 
misfortune  was  a  mortal  blow  for  the  Unitarians,  and  the  provinces 
of  Cordoba,  Corrientes,  Mendoza  and  Santiago  del  Estero  had  al- 
ready adhered  to  the  federal  compact  when  Rosas  opened  the  ses- 
sion of  1832.  It  was  stipulated  that  each  state  should  preserve  com- 
plete independence  in  internal  affairs,   and   that  the  direction  of 


124  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1832-1835 

foreign  affairs  and  matters  of  war,  common  to  the  whole  of  the 
repnbHc,  should  be  delegated  to  the  governor  of  Buenos  Ay  res.  On 
taking  authority  Rosas  said  with  great  frankness :  "  You  have 
chosen  me  to  govern  according  to  my  ability  and  conscience,  and  I 
obey.  My  convictions  will  be  my  guide,  and  it  will  be  my  duty  to 
make  them  prevail." 

The  Unitarians,  who  were  pitilessly  hunted  down,  gave  proofs 
of  indomitable  obstinacy.  Rosas  employed  all  the  resources  of 
despotism  to  exterminate  them;  and  the  press,  which  was  gagged, 
was  silent  before  the  arbitrary  acts  of  the  tyrant  and  his  lieuten- 
ants ;  the  soldiers  gave  no  quarter,  and  organized  bands  of  ruffians 
administered  beatings  to  suspects.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  from  that 
time  all  documents  bore  the  following  epigraph :  "  Long  live  the 
Argentine  Confederation.  Death  to  the  Unitarian  savages !  "  The 
generals  who  had  seconded  Rosas  filled  him  with  a  vague  suspi- 
cion. Ouiroga  was  assassinated  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cordoba; 
Lopez,  of  Santa  Fe,  was  invited  to  go  to  Buenos  Ayres,  and  died 
there  of  a  mysterious  malady ;  and  Cullen,  his  brother-in-law,  was 
put  to  death,  as  also  were  the  Generals  Reynafe  and  Heredia.  A 
campaign  skillfully  carried  on  against  the  Indians  of  the  southern 
Pampas,  which  put  an  end  to  their  incursions  into  the  territories  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  came  in  time  to  increase  the  prestige  of  Rosas.  The 
multitude,  who  decidedly  saw  in  him  a  hero  and  a  man  sent  by 
Providence,  threw  themselves  into  his  arms  and  made  him  a  dictator. 

The  assassination  of  Ouiroga,  which  w^as  charged  to  the  Uni- 
tarians, greatly  excited  popular  indignation.  On  March  8,  1835, 
the  day  after  the  representation  of  a  parliamentary  comedy  skill- 
fully planned  beforehand,  the  chamber  of  Buenos  Ayres  put  all 
public  authority  into  the  hands  of  Rosas,  with  the  title  of  governor 
and  captain-general  of  the  province,  for  five  years.  The  dictator 
had  not  yet  gained  his  object,  and  a  plebiscite  was  necessary  to  con- 
firm the  election.  A  state  entry  was  arranged  for  him,  the  idola- 
trous multitude  drew  his  carriage,  the  frenzied  Gauchos  bore  him  in 
triumph,  and  the  blessings  and  thanksgivings  of  the  clergy  filled 
tlic  air.  Such  was  the  beginning  of  a  dictatorship  that  lasted  until 
T852  and  was  able  to  hold  England  and  France  in  check.  Every 
five  years,  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office,  Rosas  hypocrit- 
ically begged  the  chamber  to  take  into  consideration  his  weak  state 
of  health  and  to  allow  him  to  return  to  rural  life.  They  renewed 
his  powers,  and  the  farce  was  played.  In  their  admiration,  the 
Gauchos  called  him  the  Washington  of  the  South. 


ARGENTINE     REPUBLIC  125 

1835-1841 

Laborious,  clear-sighted,  and  always  attentive,  he  saw  every- 
thing and  managed  everything;  the  army,  police,  finances,  diplo- 
macy, administration  and  the  press.  The  treaties  of  1829  made 
the  governor  of  Buenos  Ayres  the  representative  of  the  states  of 
La  Plata  with  foreign  powers,  who  learned  to  know  Rosas  in  the 
famous  "  affair  of  La  Plata,"  which  aggrandized  him  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Americans  and  so  much  occupied  Europe,  and  France  in 
particular.  The  July  [1830]  government  of  France  had  promptly 
acknowledged  the  independence  of  the  old  Spanish  colonies,  but  its 
diplomatic  agents  were  in  conflict  with  Rosas,  who  had  refused  to 
receive  one  of  them,  M.  Laforet,  under  the  pretext  that  he  had  given 
offense  to  Chili.  In  Uruguay,  President  Oribe,  attacked  by  Ribera, 
who  had  made  common  cause  with  Lavalle,  accepted  the  interested 
help  of  Rosas,  notwithstanding  the  protests  of  the  French  minister. 
The  arbitrary  imprisonment  of  French  citizens  caused  the  blockade 
of  Buenos  Ayres  in  1838  by  a  fleet  from  Cherbourg.  The  dictator 
stood  firm  and  set  himself  up  as  the  defender  of  American  independ- 
ence against  Europe. 

In  the  meantime  Ribera  expelled  Oribe  and  declared  war 
against  Buenos  Ayres ;  Lavalle  called  upon  the  Argentine  people  to 
revolt.  Corrientes  and  Entre  Rios  took  up  arms  against  the  dic- 
tator. Rosas,  threatened  on  all  sides,  redoubled  his  cruelties  against 
his  adversaries,  and  had  seventy  persons  shot  in  one  day.  His  lieu- 
tenants acted  with  the  ferocity  of  wild  beasts.  In  Santiago  del 
Estero  the  governor,  Ibarra,  made  his  name  forever  hated  in  the 
whole  district.^  The  diplomatic  conferences  lasted  two  years.  At 
length  Vice-Admiral  Mackau  signed  a  treaty  with  Rosas,  October 
29,  1840,  indemnity  being  promised  to  the  injured  Frenchmen; 
but  at  Paris  both  the  chambers  and  the  press  complained  that  this 
treaty  abandoned  France's  allies  of  yesterday  to  the  vengeance  of 
Rosas.  Lavalle,  defeated  November  16  in  Santa  Fe,  was  afterward 
defeated  in  Lujan,  and  at  length,  being  surprised  in  Jujuy,  was 
shot  (1841).  Oribe  expelled  the  Unitarian  general,  Paz,  from 
Uruguay,  and  his  victories  in  the  provinces  of  Santa  Fe  and 
Cordoba  were  followed  by  daily  massacres.  On  the  anniversary  of 
the  election  of  Rosas  his  followers  went  through  the  streets,  and 
falling  upon  those  persons  who  w^ere  suspected  to  belong  to  the  van- 
quished party,  pitilessly  slaughtered  them.  The  Unitarians  being 
defeated  everywhere,  Brown  received  orders  to  blockade  Monte- 

lAs    to   this    monster,    see    "  Les   Aventurcs    et   Malheurs   dc    la   Seiiora 
Libarona."     (Tour  dti  Monde,  Vol.  III.) 


l^>r>  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1841-1851 

video;  while  Oribe,  refusing  the  mediation  of  England  and  France, 
invaded  Uruguay,  laying  siege  to  the  capital  by  land. 

Rosas  had  for  somt  time  conceived  the  idea  of  taking  the 
Oriental  Rc|niblic  into  the  body  of  the  Argentine  Confederation,  and 
Oribe  zealously  seconded  his  ambitious  views.  Montevideo,  de- 
fended by  General  Paz,  had  in  its  service  a  French  legion  under 
Thibaut,  and  an  Italian  legion  under  Garibaldi;  but  in  spite  of 
everything  the  city  was  about  to  yield  when  the  French  plenipo- 
tentiaries intervened.  Rosas  refused  to  put  an  end  to  hostilities,  and 
the  fleets  of  France  and  England  blockaded  Buenos  Ayres,  Septem- 
ber 1 8,  1845,  and  forced  the  passage  of  the  Parana,  free  entrance  to 
which  had  always  been  refused  to  foreign  ships.  This  armed  inter- 
vention v/as  founded  on  three  powerful  reasons — the  interests  of 
commerce,  the  protection  due  to  French  citizens,  and  the  coopera- 
tion of  Brazil,-  which  was  afterward  withdrawn.  Montevideo  had 
2000  French  residents,  and  Buenos  Ayres  10,000.  The  two  chief 
interests  at  stake,  commerce  and  humanity,  had  more  to  gain  from 
peace  than  from  war.  The  negotiations  opened  with  Rosas  by  the 
allied  ])owers  resulted  in  1849  ^'"^  treaties  which  secured  the  free 
navigation  of  the  Parana,  the  status  quo  ante  helium  and  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  Oriental  Republic.  At  Paris  the  National  Assem- 
bly refused  to  ratify  the  treaty  made  by  Admiral  Le  Predour  in  the 
name  of  the  republic,  and  in  1851  France  decided  to  send  an  expe- 
ditionary military  and  naval  force  to  the  waters  of  the  South 
Atlantic. 

The  tyranny  of  Rosas  was  nearing  its  end.  The  dictator,  who 
had  been  able  to  make  head  against  two  European  powers  of  the 
first  rank,  fell  before  an  insurrection  of  the  provinces,  supported  by 
Brazil,  win'ch  dreaded  the  time  when  it  would  have  him  for  a  neigh- 
bor. His  tyranny  and  his  obstinacy  in  negotiations,  w^hich,  by  caus- 
ing the  blockade  of  the  Argentine  ports,  interfered  wdth  the  com- 
merce of  the  La  Plata  and  perpetuated  the  war  with  Montevideo,  had 
at  last  wearied  his  own  generals.  Juste  Jose  de  Urquiza,  the  gov- 
ernor of  I'ntre  Rios,  having  been  twice  sent  to  pacify  the  revolted 
cities,  at  last  embraced  their  cause.  Urquiza,  a  simple  Gaucho 
sprung  from  the  ranks  of  the  people,  owed  his  elevation  to  his 
strength  of  character  and  superior  intelligence.  He  began  his  mil- 
itary career  under  the  command  of  Rosas,  who  appointed  him  gov- 

-  RmuIilt.      "Proceedings    of    the    [French]    National    Assembly,    December 
29.  i8:;o." 


DON    TUAN    MAN'l-EI.  ORTIZ   PK  ROSAS,   DICTATOR  OF 
ARGENTINA 

(Born    T703.      I'ied    1877) 
From  d  photograph 


ARGENTINE     REPUBLIC:  127 

1851-1852 

ernor  of  Entre  Rios  in  1842,  and  distinguished  himself  against 
Ribera  in  Uruguay.  Had  he  at  length  unraveled  the  crafty  i)()licy 
of  Rosas?  Did  he  see  that  he  was  using  his  patriotism  for  the 
furthering  of  a  personal  ambition?  Certain  it  is  that  he  turned 
against  the  dictator.  When  the  latter  wished  in  185 1  to  repeat  the 
comedy  of  his  abdication.  Urquiza  published  an  eloquent  manifesto 
against  Rosas's  bad  faith.  The  insurgent  leader  obtained  the  alli- 
ance of  Brazil,  Paraguay,  Corrientes,  and  Uruguay,  forced  Oribe 
to  capitulate  on  October  8,  and  delivered  Montevideo.  On  January 
8,  1852,  "  the  grand  army  of  liberty  of  South  America  "  crossed 
the  Parana  and  marched  against  Buenos  Ayres,  following  the  bank 
of  the  river.  Rosas  saw  the  danger;  declared  Urquiza  "a  traitor, 
madman,  and  Unitarian  savage  " ;  demanded  a  new  investiture  from 
the  Chamber  of  Representatives,  and  had  himself  declared  exempt, 
during  the  war  and  for  three  years  thereafter,  "  from  all  limitations, 
ordinary  as  well  as  extraordinary.  His  forces,  concentrated  around 
the  capital,  amounted  to  25,000.  The  liberating  army  numbered 
28,000,  and  these  two  forces  were  the  largest  armies  which  had  yet 
fought  in  South  America.  The  battle  of  Alonte  Caseros  (February 
3,  1852)  ended  in  a  few  hours  the  power  of  the  chief  of  the 
Gauchos.  Rosas  had  time  to  fly;  an  English  steamer  landed  him  in 
Ireland,  with  his  daughter,  jManuelita,  on  April  26.  He  afterward 
settled  in  Southampton,  where  he  learned  in  1861  that  the  tribunal 
of  Buenos  Ayres  had  condemned  him  to  death. 

The  government  created  by  Rosas  had  lasted  twenty  years. 
Although  he  had  been  raised  to  power  as  a  Federalist,  he  had 
not  always  respected  the  rights  of  the  provinces.  The  cause  of  his 
fall  even  at  that  late  day  was  not  so  much  the  tyrannical  measures 
by  which  he  maintained  his  authority  as  the  lion's  share  in  the 
division  of  the  proceeds  of  the  customs  which  his  policy  gave  to  the 
capital.  Rivadavia,  the  direct  product  of  the  ideas  of  the  French 
Revolution,  endeavored  to  make  unity  the  basis  of  liberty;  Rosas, 
the  executioner  of  the  Unitarians,  centralized  everything,  and  his 
despotic  hand  weighed  upon  every  part  of  La  Plata. 

Urquiza  entrusted  the  administration  of  Buenos  Ayres  to  the 
old  and  esteemed  Dr.  Lopez,  and  convoked  a  constituent  assem- 
bly in  Santa  Fe,  in  which  the  province  of  Buenos  Ayres  was  not 
represented.  Its  pretensions  to  preponderance  and  political  suprem- 
acy were  tenacious,  and  its  newspapers  and  assemblies  revived  Uni- 
tarian ambitions.    Lopez  gave  in  his  resignation,  and  General  Pinto, 


128  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1852-1855 

president  of  the  Chamber  of  Buenos  Ayres,  took  power  provision- 
ally. Urquiza  arrived  and  dissolved  the  Chamber,  and  by  a  dic- 
tatorial act,  entrusted  the  government  to  one  of  his  generals,  who 
was  overthrown  shortly  after  by  a  popular  movement  which  de- 
clared the  city  free,  and  appointed  Valentin  Alsina  captain-general, 
October  30,  1852.  The  province  of  Buenos  Ayres  rose  against  the 
city,  demanding  its  immediate  incorporation  in  the  confederation, 
and  the  provincial  militia  took  up  arms.  Urquiza  joined  them,  laid 
siege  to  Buenos  Ayres,  and  blockaded  its  port.  At  the  same  time 
he  signed  a  treaty  with  France  and  England,  which  secured  the 
free  navigation  of  the  Argentine  rivers.  Want  of  union  in  the 
besieging  army,  the  attitude  of  the  fleet,  which  fraternized  with 
the  population,  and  the  unanimous  resistance  of  the  natives,  as  well 
as  of  the  Europeans,  obliged  Urquiza  to  retire  precipitately,  and 
give  up  an  attempt  openly  condemned  by  the  national  feeling.^  He 
offered  his  resignation  to  Congress,  which  refused  to  accept  it. 

The  Congress  had  voted  the  constitution  promulgated  May  i, 
1853,  and  delegated  the  executive  authority  to  Urquiza.  Peace 
was  an  absolute  necessity.  The  new  president  established  his 
government  in  Parana,  whither  the  representatives  of  foreign 
powers  followed  it,  and  recognized  the  province  of  Buenos  Ayres 
as  forming  a  state  independent  of  the  rest  of  the  confederation, 
with  a  national  representation  in  two  chambers,  and  a  government 
elected  every  three  years.  The  relations  between  the  two  separate 
factions  in  the  Argentine  family  remained  unfriendly  until  the 
signature  of  the  treaties  of  December  20,  1854,  and  January  8, 
1855,  which  succeeded  in  reestablishing  confidence  and  assuring 
public  credit.  The  dissentient  state  received  the  diplomatic  and 
consular  agents  of  friendly  powers  and  of  the  Federal  government 
itself. 

Under  the  enlightened,  tolerant,  and  firm  administration  of 
Dr.  Obligado  Buenos  Ayres  built  sumptuous  edifices,  its  monu- 
mental customs  house,  theaters,  and  palaces,  illuminated  its  streets 
with  gas  and  opened  railways,  while  the  Argentine  Confederation, 
under  the  presidency  of  Urquiza,  saw  order  and  prosperity  return, 
and  its  commerce  and  industry  acquire  a  great  development.  The 
plan  of  a  railway  between  Cordoba  and  Rosario  was  studied,  and 
a  geographical  and  statistical  examination  of  the  confederation 
was  undertaken,  the  rivers  of  the  interior  were  explored,  and  nu- 
-  Balearic,  "  Buows-Ayrcs:  Sa  situation  prcsente"  etc,     Paris,  1857. 


ARGENTINE     REPUBLIC  120 

1855-1868 

merons  agricultural  colonies  were  settled  in  the  provinces  of  Santa 
Fe  and  Entre  Rios. 

In  the  meantime  Urquiza  did  not  lose  the  hope  of  forming 
the  federal  bond  again;  but  the  negotiations  opened  with  this  object 
found  no  echo  in  Buenos  Ayres.  This  great  city  was  tlien  accused 
of  wishing  to  regain  its  lost  empire,  to  be  the  center  of  monopoly, 
and  to  repudiate  the  ideas  of  free  navigation  and  commerce.*  Some 
modifications  of  its  international  relations  resulted  from  this,  of 
which  the  government  at  Parana  took  advantage  to  abandon  the 
pacific  attitude  which  it  had  hitherto  preserved.  On  March  i8, 
1856,  it  denounced  the  treaty  of  1854,  and  by  a  later  law  established 
differential  duties  on  imports.  The  commerce  of  Buenos  Ayres 
was  directly  attacked,  and  the  city  complained.  The  relations 
between  the  two  states  were  embittered.  In  May,  1859,  various 
movements  demanding  the  voluntary  or  forcible  union  of  Buenos 
Ayres  with  the  Confederation  took  place  in  the  provinces;  both 
parties  set  their  national  guards  on  a  war  footing,  and  although 
the  ministers  of  France,  England,  and  the  United  States  ofifered 
their  mediation,  Buenos  Ayres  refused  all  accommodation,  and  en- 
trusted its  defense  to  General  Mitre,  who  was  defeated  by  Urquiza. 
The  battle  of  Cepeda,  gained  by  the  Federal  troops  on  October  23, 
was  followed  by  a  treaty,  by  the  terms  of  which  Buenos  Ayres 
reentered  the  Confederation  (November  11,  1859).  On  ]\Iarch  i, 
1868,  Urquiza,  whose  presidential  term  was  ended,  gave  up  his 
office  to  Dr.  Santiago  Derqui.  On  May  i  following  Alitre  was 
appointed  governor  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  to  celebrate  the  conclu- 
sion of  peace  between  the  various  states  of  the  confederation 
national  rejoicings  brought  together  in  Buenos  Ayres,  on  July  9, 
President  Derqui,  General  Urquiza,  and  General  Mitre,  who  re- 
ceived the  title  of  brigadier-general  from  the  nation. 

The  Argentine  union  had  scarcely  been  formed  when  a  rebellion 
broke  out  in  the  province  of  San  Juan ;  the  governor,  Virasoro,  was 
assassinated  in  his  house,  with  five  of  his  friends,  and  Dr.  Abera- 
stein,  elected  to  occupy  his  post,  fell  into  the  hands  of  Colonel  Saa, 
who  was  sent  to  punish  the  revolt,  and  was  shot.  This  summary 
execution  excited  indignation  in  the  state  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and 
Mitre,  after  asking  in  vain  for  the  disapprobation  of  the  act  of 
Colonel  Saa  from  the  president,  Derqui,  applied  to  Congress.    This 

^"  Organisacion    de     la    Confederacion    Argentina" ;     and     the     following 
journals  for  1856:    Le  Pays,  Le  Constitutionncl,  Les  Dcbats. 


130  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1861-1862 

subject  was  complicated  by  the  quashing-  by  the  Argentine  chamber 
of  the  election  of  tlie  deputies  for  Buenos  Ayres,  which  took  place 
under  the  provincial  and  not  under  the  federal  law.  About  this 
time  a  terrible  earthquake  completely  destroyed  Mendoza. 

Buenos  Ayres  made  the  denial  of  admission  to  its  deputies  a 
cause  for  war.  suppressed  the  monthly  payment  to  the  treasury  of 
the  $100,000  from  May  i.  1861,  in  order  to  preserve  the  control 
of  its  customs  house :  on  the  other  hand,  the  federal  authority  pre- 
sented various  restrictive  claims.  The  interminable  conflict  be- 
tween state  rights  and  national  rights,  between  Unitarians  and  Fed- 
eralists, broke  out  more  ardently  than  ever.  After  exhausting  all 
means  of  conciliation,  Urquiza,  general-in-chief  of  the  forces  of  the 
Argentine  Confederation,  and  ]Mitre,  at  the  head  of  the  troops  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  began  the  campaign :  but  this  time  Urquiza,  discon- 
tented with  the  policy  of  his  successor,  did  not  undertake  the  strug- 
gle willingly,  and  wliile  he  consented  to  it  as  a  matter  of  form,  he 
negotiated  secretly  with  ]\Iitre.  The  latter,  after  winning  a  victory 
on  .September  17,  1861,  at  Pabon,  thanks  to  the  Italian  legion 
commanded  by  the  ex-Garibaldian,  Piloni,  invaded  the  province  of 
Santa  Fe  and  penetrated  to  Rosario  with  12,000  men,  after  receiv- 
ing the  adhesion  of  the  province  of  Cordoba.  Urquiza,  from  the 
beginning  of  the  struggle,  had  returned  to  his  usual  residence  at 
vSan  Jose.  His  unexpected  retirement  had  caused  the  dissolution  of 
the  Argentine  army,  which,  deserted  by  its  officers,  without  pro- 
visions, baggage,  or  munitions,  had  to  undergo  unheard  of  suffer- 
ings during  its  long  retreat.  President  Derqui  was  reduced  to  im- 
jjotence,  solicited  the  hospitality  of  an  English  steamer,  and  took 
refuge  in  ^Montevideo;  a  few  months  later  Mitre  signed  a  peace  with 
Urquiza,  who  remained  governor  of  Entre  Rios. 

On  May  i,  1862,  Mitre  opened  the  new  provincial  legislature 
in  Ikienos  Ayres.  and  in  his  message  he  boasted  of  the  triumph  of 
the  Liberal  party,  the  reestablishment  of  peace,  the  increasing  pros- 
perity of  commerce,  the  satisfactory  condition  of  the  finances,  the 
construction  of  new  railways,  and  the  material  and  administrative 
progress.  The  chief  of  the  victorious  party  was  elected  president 
t>f  the  Argentine  Republic,  entering  upon  the  exercise  of  his  powers 
m  the  month  of  October,  and  the  city  of  Buenos  Ayres  became  again 
the  seat  f)f  government  by  the  terms  of  the  provisional  agreement. 

Complications  now  arose  in  foreign  affairs.  The  three  re- 
publics (,f  La   Plata— the  Argentine  Confederation,  Uruguay  and 


ARGENTINE     REPUBLIC  131 

1862-1865 

Para.q-iiay — found  tliemselves  engaged  in  quarrels,  in  which  the 
neig-hboring  empire  of  Brazil  was  not  slow  to  interfere,  and  which 
resulted  in  a  bloody  and  general  war.  The  three  republics  were 
always  jealous  of  one  another.  Buenos  Ayres  was  constantly  work- 
ing against  the  independence  of  its  rival,  Montevideo.  The  Argen- 
tines had  not  given  up  the  idea  of  drawing  Uruguay  into  their 
sphere  of  action  and  of  forming  a  single  state,  of  which  Paraguay, 
also,  w^ould  be  an  integral  part.  From  this  desire  arose  the  efforts 
of  the  parties  who  came  into  power  in  Buenos  Ayres  to  aid,  in 
Montevideo,  the  parties  most  like  themselves.  In  this  situation  of 
affairs  Flores  left  Buenos  x\yres  with  troops  raised  there  to  under- 
take an  insurrection  against  the  government  of  Uruguay.  As  for 
Paraguay,  boundary  disputes  were  a  continual  menace  in  that  quar- 
ter. In  1864  underhand  projects  of  territorial  aggrandizement  were 
the  cause  of  an  agreement  between  the  cabinets  of  Buenos  Ayres 
and  Rio  Janeiro  against  Uruguay.  Paraguay,  thinking  that 
the  equilibrium  of  the  states  of  La  Plata  was  threatened,  pro- 
tested against  any  armed  intervention  of  Brazil  in  the  internal 
affairs  of  ]\Iontevideo ;  this  protest  caused  a  general  conflagration, 
and  gave  the  sad  spectacle  of  an  empire,  already  dreaded  for  the 
extent  of  its  territory,  successfully  embroiling  three  republics  w'hich 
should  always  unite  for  mutual  help.  On  ]\Iay  4,  1865,  a  triple 
alliance  was  formed  against  Paraguay,  or  rather  against  its  presi- 
dent, Lopez,  who  was  described  as  a  despot  and  tyrant.  ]\Iitre,  w'ho 
does  not  deserve  our  sympathies  in  this  business,  was  appointed  gen- 
eralissimo of  the  allied  troops.  His  first  care  was  to  repulse  a 
Paraguayan  invasion,  after  which  the  allies,  w^hose  plan  was  to 
modify  the  government  established  in  Paraguay,  followed  Lopez 
into  his  own  territory. 

This  struggle  is  well  known,  and  is  recounted  in  the  following 
chapters.  The  Argentine  Republic  entered  upon  it  without  the 
sympathy  of  Chili  and  Peru,  and  while  it  continued  had  to  fight 
against  a  succession  of  internal  disturbances.  Urquiza  exercised  a 
dictatorship  in  Entre  Rios  almost  independent  of  the  federal  gov- 
ernment of  Buenos  Ayres:  the  provinces  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Parana  endeavored  to  break  the  federal  compact  by  force  of 
arms,  and  we  must  add  to  these  difficulties  the  depredations  of  hos- 
tile Indians.  The  legislature  of  Buenos  Ayres  openly  censured  the 
continuation  of  hostilities,  and  recruiting  for  the  army  was  carried 
on  everywhere  with  great  difficulty. 


132  SOUTH     AMERICA 

^'^'^  1866-1867 

Nevertheless,  the  presidential  message  of  May  6,  i866,  was 
congratulatory  on  the  progress  of  immigration  from  Europe,  which, 
in  the  first  four  montlis  of  the  year,  amounted  to  4780  persons.  It 
showed  an  excess  of  eighteen  per  cent,  in  receipts  for  1865  over  the 
preceding  year,  and  a  considerable  increase  in  the  exportation  of 
raw  wool.  The  financial  crisis  was  none  the  less  serious.  Fifteen 
months'  pay  was  due  to  the  army  corps  sent  against  Paraguay. 
Mitre  brought  back  with  him  some  4CX)0  Argentines — more  than 
half  of  the  contingent— giving,  on  his  return,  new  vigor  to  the 
operations  carried  on  at  home  against  the  rebels. 

In  the  midst  of  these  grave  events  the  cholera,  which  broke 
out  on  the  battlefields  of  Paraguay,  scourged  Buenos  Ayres  for  the 
first  time,  and  before  its  frightful  ravages  political  activity  was  sus- 
pended. Mitre,  desirous  of  advancing  military  affairs,  again  set 
out  for  Paraguay  on  July  22,  1868,  the  troops  employed  in  the 
pacification  of  the  provinces  having  returned  to  the  front  in  June, 
raising  once  more  the  Argentine  contingent  to  some  8000  men; 
but  the  insurrection  in  the  provinces  of  the  Andes  was  scarcely  ex- 
tinguished in  one  place  when  it  broke  out  in  another.  In  La  Rioja 
the  government  was  overthrown  fifteen  times  in  seven  months.  In 
Entre  Rios,  Urquiza,  the  largest  landed  proprietor  of  the  district 
and  absolute  master  of  the  country,  preserved  an  enigmatical  atti- 
tude. Buenos  Ayres,  when  the  cholera  reappeared  at  the  end  of 
the  year  with  more  virulence  than  ever,  was  panic-stricken,  and 
drove  the  municipal  authorities  from  power.  Moreover,  the  federal 
government  was  not  harmonious.  The  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
Elizalde — the  most  decided  partisan,  after  Mitre,  of  the  Brazilian 
alliance — finding  himself  in  complete  disaccord  with  Paz,  joined 
with  the  Minister  of  Justice  in  tendering  his  resignation.  Thus 
war,  disagreements  with  Chili,  insubordination  in  the  provinces,  a 
financial  and  industrial  crisis,  and  a  violent  epidemic  make  a  sum- 
mary of  the  year  1867. 

A  fact  worthy  of  notice,  and  almost  peculiar  to  these  young 
and  ardent  nations,  is  the  rapid  increase  of  population  in  the  midst 
of  such  chaos.  European  immigration,  especially  French,  is  con- 
siderable, there  is  great  activity  in  the  port  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and 
foreign  commerce  reaches  the  amount  of  $80,000,000,  of  which 
1^24,000,000  is  with  France;  some  railways  are  in  operation  and 
others  in  course  of  construction ;  an  electric  telegraph  unites  Monte- 
video with  Buenos  Ayres ;  many  roads  are  planned,  and  schools  are 


ARGENTINE     REPUBLIC  133 

1867-1870 

founded:  and  the  confederation  took  part  in  the  French  Universal 
Exposition  of  1867,  winning  several  prizes. 

At  the  beginning  of  1868  the  death  of  the  vice-president  re- 
called Mitre  to  the  control  of  civil  affairs.  On  October  12  he  re- 
signed the  presidency  to  Dr.  Sarmiento,  who  had  been  elected 
on  June  12,  and  who,  as  a  publicist,  had  attacked  the  tyranny  of- 
Rosas  In  the  press  and  been  present  at  the  battle  of  Monte  Caseros 
as  chief  of  staff  to  Urquiza.  Later,  as  inspector-general  of  schools, 
he  had  given  a  great  impulse  to  popular  education  and  endowed  the 
capital  with  important  scholastic  foundations.  As  senator  and  min- 
ister in  i860,  he  secured  an  appropriation  of  five  millions  for 
schools,  which  permitted  him  to  plant  the  germs  of  civilization  even 
in  the  Pampas.  His  initiative  had  also  influenced  the  telegraphic 
service,  the  official  sun^ey  and  valuation  of  land  (Cadastre),  and  the 
clearing  of  the  vast  plains.  When  he  was  governor  of  San  Juan  in 
1862,  he  founded  in  that  country  a  small  school  and  a  public  library, 
and  when  the  election  to  the  presidency  fell  upon  him  he  was  the 
representative  of  the  republic  with  the  Government  of  the  United 
States.  One  of  his  books  ends  with  these  words:  "Without  edu- 
cation there  is  no  liberty,"  and  bears  as  a  motto :  "  Have  schools 
and  you  will  not  have  revolutions."  Sarmiento  put  into  practice 
these  just  expressions,  he  worked  without  ceasing,  and  in  every 
way  for  the  advancement  of  his  country,  and  always  earnestly 
sought  to  favor  the  education  of  the  people. 

On  February  3,  1870,  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  INIonte 
Caseros,  Urquiza  received  the  new  president  at  San  Jose  and  gave 
proof  of  his  allegiance  to  the  national  government  by  brilliant  en- 
tertainments. This  conciliatory  step  of  the  old  Federalist  caused  a 
secret  irritation  in  those  who  had  long  been  accustomed  to  recog- 
nize him  as  their  head.  Two  months  later,  at  the  end  of  an  April 
day,  he  was  stabbed  in  his  own  house.  At  the  same  hour  Lopez 
Jordan  raised  a  rebellion  in  Concepcion  and  entered  the  legislative 
chamber,  which,  in  panic,  was  compelled  to  proclaim  him  governor. 
Sarmiento  sent  troops  against  Entre  Rios;  Lopez  Jordan  awaited 
them  firmly,  prolonging  the  contest  until  the  following  year,  when 
it  was  ended  by  the  defeat  and  flight  to  Brazil  of  the  last  of  the 
chiefs.  The  old  Gaucho  party,  that  now  includes  only  the  retro- 
grade and  anti-liberal  element,  did  not  consider  itself  as  finally 
conquered ;  and  although  it  has  lost  its  reason  for  existence  in  the 
present  state  of  political  and  social  development  of  the  republic, 


134  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1870-1873 

it  has  continued  its  agitations  in  these  latter  times.  In  1873  Lopez 
Jordan,  wlio  liad  again  appeared  in  arms  in  Entre  Rios,  kept  the 
field  until  the  month  of  December,  when  he  was  crushed. 

Tlie  intrepid  president  of  Paraguay  had  been  killed  in  a  last 
combat,  March  i,  1870;  and  on  June  20  a  treaty  was  signed 
between  Brazil  and  the  Argentine  Republic  on  one  part,  and 
Paraguay,  exhausted,  devastated,  and  ruined,  on  the  other;  but 
very  soon  the  Argentine  statesmen  were  able  to  measure  the  results 
of  this  unrighteous  war.  The  conquerors  could  not  agree,  and  on 
September  30,  1871.  the  Argentine  legation  left  Rio  Janeiro  in 
obedience  to  a  recall  by  the  cabinet  at  Buenos  Ayres.  A  boundary 
question  in  regard  to  Paraguay  caused  the  rupture,  and  it  seemed 
as  if  the  allies  of  yesterday  w^ere  about  to  come  to  blows.  Mitre 
was  sent  to  Rio  to  reopen  negotiations,  and  at  the  close  of  1872  a 
peaceful  arrangement  was  made. 

A  terriljle  scourge,  the  yellow  fever,  terrified  Buenos  Ayres 
at  the  beginning  of  1871.  The  customs  house,  the  bank  and  all 
public  buildings  had  to  be  closed.  By  April  30  26,000  persons  had 
perished  in  the  course  of  100  days.  In  the  same  year  the  Congress 
settled  the  question  of  the  capital,  which  had  been  in  suspense  for 
a  long  time,  by  declaring  that  the  government  should  abandon 
Buenos  Ayres  and  fix  its  seat  at  Villa  Maria,  between  Rosario  and 
Cordoba;  but  the  president  put  his  veto  on  this  project,  for  the 
reason  that  the  seat  of  government  in  that  town  would  be  exposed 
to  danger  while  the  war  with  the  state  of  Entre  Rios  continued. 
At  the  same  time  (October  15)  a  great  national  exhibition  was 
opened  in  Cordoba,  which  marked  a  new  era  in  the  annals  of  the 
agricultural  and  industrial  development  of  the  republic. 

Sarmicnto's  term  of  office  ended  in  1874.  His  last  message 
to  Congress  was  a  consolatory  statement  of  the  condition  of  the 
c(juntry.  The  increase  in  the  receipts  of  the  treasury  had  kept  pace 
each  year  with  the  rapid  progress,  in  material  as  well  as  intellectual 
a  hairs.  sh(nvn  by  the  development  of  popular  education  and  postal 
corrcviJOPidcnce:  by  the  increase  in  immigration;  by  the  great  con- 
sumption of  paper,  that  so  exactly  gives  the  measure  of  the  in- 
tellectual movement  of  a  country;  by  the  progress  in  means  of  com- 
munication in  all  parts  of  the  territory;  and,  lastly,  by  the  extent  of 
country  covered  by  telegraphic  lines.  In  1868  the  receipts  of  the 
trfa^iuy  amounted  to  ,$12,000,000,  and  in  1873  they  were  nearly 
Sjo,  i7n.(joo.    At  the  same  date  (1868)  the  nimiber  of  immigrants 


A  H  G  E  \  T  I  N  K     R  E  P  T  lU.  I  ('  135 

1873-1874 

was  39,000,  and  this  number  increased  to  80,000  in  1873.  In 
1868  the  postoffice  distributed  4,000,000  pieces  of  written  and 
printed  matter;  in  1873  the  figures  were  7,787,400,  and  the  postal 
routes  covered  81,000  leagues,  and  1,000,000  letters  were  dcWv- 
ered  by  the  letter  carriers  alone.  In  1870  6400  telegrams  were 
transmitted  over  lines  extending  129  miles;  in  1873  there  were 
170,079  telegrams,  and  the  length  of  wires  2618  miles.  In  1868 
the  colleges  had  1006  students;  there  were  4000  in  1873.  In  1852, 
the  date  of  the  fall  of  Rosas,  twenty  schools  were  sustained  by  the 
state  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  in  the  interior  the  number  was  still  less. 
To-day  there  are  11 17  public  schools.  In  1868  San  Juan  was  the 
only  province  that  had  a  public  library;  now  there  are  140;  some 
can  be  found  in  the  smallest  villages.  In  1868  there  were  only  four 
steamers  a  month  sailing  for  Europe ;  to-day  there  are  19,  so 
that  one  leaves  Buenos  Ayres  every  two  days.  In  1868  the  im- 
portation of  paper  did  not  reach  12,000  reams  annually.  In  1872 
and  1873  it  amounted  to  200,000  reams.  There  were  5630 
machines  employed  in  industry  in  1868,  and  70,000  in  1873. 

Speaking  of  public  w'orks,  the  message  enumerated  the  build- 
ings erected  in  Buenos  Ayres  for  the  national  government :  those 
containing  the  offices  of  accounts,  the  laboratories  of  chemistry  and 
physics  annexed  to  the  national  college,  and  more  recent  buildings 
for  the  offices  of  the  master  of  the  port,  the  telegraph  and  the  post- 
office.  In  Rosario  and  Santa  Fe  a  national  college,  a  telegraph 
office  and  a  customs  house  were  built;  in  Cordoba  an  observatory 
and  an  academy  of  sciences.  The  president  took  pleasure  in  point- 
ing out  the  progress  of  ornamental  architecture  in  the  towns  and 
their  suburbs  and  in  the  villages:  "On  our  lines  of  railway  and 
the  banks  of  our  rivers  the  numerous  chimneys  of  our  factories 
now  rise.  Does  not  this  sight  give  the  traveler  a  good  idea  of  the 
development  of  our  industries  ?  " 

The  presidential  election  in  1874  was  warmly  contested.  Dr. 
Nicolas  Avellaneda,  the  winner  in  the  balloting  in  April,  had  ]\Iitre 
for  a  competitor.  His  installation  took  place  on  October  12  under 
somewhat  critical  circumstances.  Mitre  had  not  accepted  the  re- 
sult of  the  voting,  which  was  said  to  have  been  vitiated  by  fraud. 
A  military  insurrection,  fomented  and  directed  by  the  party  that 
called  itself  constitutional,  which  had  lost  the  election,  broke  out. 
Mitre,  with  a  considerable  force,  threatened  Buenos  Ayres;  other 
chiefs,  Arredondo,  Rivas,  and  Borges,  joined  him,  and  on  Novem- 


-[an  SOUTH    AMERICA 

1<50  K3  v^  vj   a.  A  1874-1876 

ber  6  the  insurgent  flotilla  cast  anchor  in  sight  of  the  port.  The 
government  forces,  under  the  command  of  Sarmiento,  were  vic- 
torious, and  Mitre  surrendered.  In  December  the  province  of 
Buenos  Ayres  was  pacified,  and  Arredondo  was  completely  routed. 
Peace  seemed  to  be  reestablished  when  a  tragical  event  occurred. 

At  the  inauguration  of  the  new  president,  Nicolas  Avellaneda, 
some  old  pretensions  were  revived.  The  Jesuits  had  fled  from 
Buenos  Ayres  at  the  same  time  as  the  Spaniards.  The  state  had 
converted  the  establishments  deserted  by  them  into  academies  and 
hospitals ;  the  reverend  fathers  returned  quietly,  and  took  good  care 
not  to  arouse  suspicion,  patiently  waiting  till  their  time  should 
come.  After  the  election  of  Avellaneda,  who  seemed  no  less  a 
friend  of  the  order  than  the  Archbishop  Eneiro,  they  unmasked 
their  batteries.  The  passions  of  the  clergy  were  aroused,  and  pul- 
pits resounded  with  violent  attacks  against  "the  robbers  of  the 
clergy,  the  Liberals,  the  Freemasons,"  etc.  The  archbishop  for- 
mally demanded  the  restitution  of  the  real  estate  which  was  con- 
verted into  state  property  in  1816.  The  public  was  excited  beyond 
expression  at  such  an  impudent  request.  On  March  I,  1875,  the 
students  marched  with  a  banner  bearing  this  motto : 

"  A  Protest  against  the  Jesuits," 

and  presented  themselves  before  the  house  of  these  fathers.  Con- 
sidering it  to  be  national  property,  they  begged  permission  to  cross 
its  courts.  The  door  opened.  The  student  carrying  the  banner, 
a  youth  of  twenty  years  of  age,  named  Suzini,  led  the  way  over 
the  threshold,  when  the  Jesuits,  who  lay  in  ambush,  threw  him  to 
the  ground,  and  completely  decapitated  him  by  the  sharp  blades  of 
their  knives  and  daggers.  The  comrade  who  followed  him  was 
stabbed  in  the  breast,  a  third  received  a  frightful  stab  in  the  abdo- 
men, and  others  rolled  bleeding  to  the  ground.  The  multitude, 
beside  themselves,  broke  loose,  and  threw  themselves  on  the  priests 
and  beat  them  to  death  on  the  spot;  the  building  was  given  over  to 
fire  and  pillage,  after  which,  with  shouts  of  "Death  to  the  Jesuits," 
the  people  marched  to  the  archbishop's  palace,  which  was  searched 
from  garret  to  cellar,  but  the  ultramontane  prelate  had  fled,  and  it 
was  impossible  to  find  him  anywhere.  Such  are  the  facts,  still  little 
known  in  Europe,  and  which  we  can  only  mention  here. 


Chapter   IX 

THE    ORIENTAL    REPUBLIC    OF    URUGUAY 

1828-1876 

THE  treaty  of  August  2j,  1828,  which  recognized  the  in- 
dependence of  the  Banda  Oriental,  the  chance  spoil  of 
Brazil,  was  ratified  on  October  4  of  the  same  year.  This 
old  province  of  the  viceroyalty  of  Rio  de  la  Plata,  on  being  definitely 
separated  from  the  Argentine  territory,  elected  deputies,  who,  sitting 
as  a  constituent  congress,  appointed  as  provisional  president.  Gen- 
eral Rondeau,  an  old  warrior  of  Peru,  and  lately  one  of  the  gov- 
ernors of  Buenos  Ay  res.  On  July  18,  1830,  the  constitution  was 
proclaimed.  By  it  the  government  of  the  Oriental  Republic  of 
Uruguay  was  composed  of  an  executive  power  exercised  by  a  presi- 
dent, elected  for  four  years  by  the  two  chambers  sitting  as  one 
house,  reeligible  only  after  the  lapse  of  a  full  term  after  his  quitting 
the  office,  and  assisted  by  four  ministers,  namely,  those  of  the  Inte- 
rior, of  Foreign  Affairs,  of  Finance,  and  of  War  and  Marine ;  a  legis- 
lative power  exercised  by  the  Senate,  over  which  the  vice-president 
of  the  republic  presides,  and  the  Chamber  of  Deputies;  the  judi- 
ciary power,  exercised  by  special  judges  with  three  grades  of 
jurisdiction,  corresponding  to  the  French  tribunals  of  first  in- 
stance, appeal,  and  cassation.  The  Supreme  Court  of  Justice,  com- 
posed of  five  judges,  acts  as  a  court  of  final  appeal  and  appoints 
some  magistrates  of  the  inferior  courts.  Criminal  causes  and 
offenses  of  the  press  are  tried  by  jury.  The  French  code  forms 
the  basis  of  the  legislation  on  this  subject. 

Uruguay  is  the  smallest  state  of  South  America,  but  it  is  not 
the  least  important  from  the  point  of  view  of  commerce.  Its 
population,  which,  according  to  the  official  census  of  1865,  was 
only  346,000,  amounts,  according  to  recent  calculations,  to  nearly 
1,000,000.  This  is  not  surprising  if  we  take  into  account  the  large 
immigration  of  Europeans  which  has  recently  taken  place,  espe- 
cially of  Spaniards,  Italians,  French,  English,  and  Germans.  Monte- 

137 


1J38  SOUTH     AMERICA 

^'^  1828-1835 

video,  which  the  native  poets  call  the  Troy  of  South  America,  is 
admirably  situated  between  the  wide  estuary  of  the  La  Plata  and 
the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  at  its  commodious  port,  where  there  is 
room  for  more  than  200  vessels,  almost  all  the  steamers  bound  for 
Buenos  Ay  res  call. 

The  Oriental  Republic  has  always  been  coveted  by  Brazil, 
which  bounds  it  on  the  north,  and  of  the  Argentine  Confederation, 
from  which  it  is  separated  by  the  River  Uruguay  on  the  w-est.  On 
the  south  and  east  it  is  washed  by  the  La  Plata  and  the  Atlantic. 
Its  geographical  position  is  eminently  favorable  to  the  development 
of  its  resources,  since  the  greater  part  of  its  frontiers  are  formed  by 
the  sea  and  large  rivers  navigable  by  ships  of  the  greatest  burden. 
^VooI  and  hides,  as  in  the  Argentine  Confederation,  are  the  prin- 
cipal industry  of  the  country,  which  is  divided  into  thirteen-  depart- 
ments— ^Salto,  Paysandu,  Soriano,  Colonia,  San  Jose,  Montevideo, 
Canclones,  ]\Ialdonado,  Cerro  Largo,  Tacuarembo,  Minas,  Florida, 
and  Durazno. 

After  a  very  short  period  of  peace  the  newly  emancipated  state 
saw  rival  factions  disputing  for  power,  and  the  Indian  tribes  carry- 
ing devastation  and  death  to  the  towns  in  the  interior.  Among 
these,  the  tribe  of  the  Charruas  had  always  been  distinguished  for 
tlieir  unconquerable  hostility.  Diaz  de  Solis  and  his  companions, 
the  first  Europeans  who  had  ventured  to  enter  the  La  Plata,  had 
been  devoured  by  them  in  15 16,  and  since  then  they  had  never  ceased 
to  carry  on  a  war  of  extermination  against  the  conquerors.  Faithful 
to  tlie  traditions  of  their  ancestors,  these  formidable  savages  sacked 
and  burned  the  farmsteads,  stole  the  cattle,  killed  the  men,  and  car- 
ried off  the  women  and  children,  Fructuoso  Ribera,  who  was 
raised  to  the  presidency,  resolved  to  make  an  end  of  them,  and  little 
by  little  they  were  almost  annihilated  in  many  hard-fought  battles; 
the  few  who  escaped  pursuit  hid  themselves  in  the  depths  of  the 
wilderness;  and  this  was  the  end  of  a  nation  which,  like  the  lion 
in  the  fable.'  had  it  known  how  to  paint  or  write  would  have  trans- 
mitted hcrok  annals  to  posterity. 

Meanwhile,  Uruguay  saw  the  beginning  of  a  sad  period  of 
pronunciauncnlos.  Ribera  was  suddenly  attacked  in  his  headquar- 
ters, and  very  nearly  killed;  a  colonel  named  Gurzon  rose  with  his 
regiment,  dixjvc  (jut  the  ministers,  seized  power  himself  and  ap- 

I-.'i    l-ontaiiie's    i'ahlcs.   iii.,    lo.     The   lion   contemptuously   conmicnts   on   a 
tr.rc  ..iin-cnliiig  n  man  viclorious  over  a  gigantic  lion. 


URUGUAY  139 

1835-1843 

pointed  General  Lavalleja  commander-in-chief  of  the  army. 
Ribera,  with  a  loyal  negro  battalion  and  a  few  hundred  white  men. 
marched  against  the  insurgents  and  defeated  them.  Ten  officers 
were  executed.  The  sentence  of  exile  pronounced  against  the 
authors  of  these  disorders  was  suspended  three  years  later  by  a 
decree  of  amnesty,  which  was  universal,  even  including  General 
Lavalleja  himself. 

Manuel  Oribe  was  elected  president  ]\Iarch  i,  1835,  '^'^■^ 
Ribera,  who  Avas  at  first  appointed  by  him  to  command  the  army, 
was  soon  replaced  by  Ignacio  Oribe.  Ribera  became  the  personal 
enemy  of  his  successor,  made  common  cause  with  the  Argentine 
Unitarians,  who  had  fled  to  Uruguay,  and  united  under  his  ban- 
ners many  French  and  Italians  who  were  settled  in  Montevideo. 
Oribe  obtained  the  help  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  Rosas,  whose  fixed 
idea  was  to  annex  the  Oriental  Republic  to  the  confederation, 
hastened  to  intervene,  disregarding  the  protests  of  the  resident 
French  minister.  Ribera  was  beaten  in  1837,  and  obliged  to  take 
refuge  in  Brazilian  territory,  whence  he  kept  up  guerrilla  warfare. 
When  tlie  French  squadron  blockaded  Buenos  Ayres  tiie  next  year, 
he  entered  Montevideo  and  had  himself  elected  president,  and  his 
competitor,  Oribe,  took  refuge  with  Rosas. 

Oribe  was  appointed  by  Rosas  general  of  brigade,  placed  at 
the  head  of  the  Argentine  forces,  and  soon  beat  the  Unitarian  allies 
of  Ribera.  While  the  Argentine  fleet,  opposing  the  squadron  of 
Uruguay,  commanded  by  Coe  and  afterward  In-  Garibaldi,  was 
blockading  Alontevideo,  Oribe,  refusing  the  oft'er  of  mediation  made 
by  England  and  France,  invaded  the  Banda  Oriental,  and  at  the 
end  of  1842  defeated  tlie  army  of  Ribera  near  Arroyo  Grande,  made 
himself  master  of  all  the  open  country,  and  marched  on  the  capital, 
to  which  he  laid  siege  by  land  on  February  16,  1843.  His  soldiers 
devastated  the  country,  and  he  himself  gave  it  up  to  pillage.  It  was 
not  enough  to  lead  a  foreign  invasion  of  his  bleeding  country ; 
he  made  those  whom  he  conquered  suft'er  a  despotism  like  that 
exercised  by  Rosas.  The  people  abhorred  him;  he  avenged  him- 
self cruelly,  and  his  name  has  been  given  up  to  public  execration; 
he  is  known  on  both  banks  of  the  La  Plata  by  the  name  of  The 
Headsman  {Corta-Cahczas).  The  foreigners  resident  in  IMonte- 
video  fought  against  him  in  the  Italian  legion,  the  French  legion, 
and  the  Basque  regiment,  under  Garibaldi  and  Colonels  Thibaut  and 
Brie.     Paz  and   Pacheco  and  Obes  directed  the  defense.     Those 


140  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1843-1866 

men,  representing  the  principles  of  liberty  and  humanity,  performed 
prodigies  of  valor.  Garibaldi,  surprised  in  a  sally  that  he  made 
to  San  Antonio,  by  12,000  cavalry  and  300  infantry,  beat  them  off 
for  a  whole  day  with  only  180  Italians,  and  retreated  in  good  order 
upon  El  Salto.  The  desire  of  protecting  the  independence  of  the 
Oriental  Republic  had  been  the  principal  reason  put  forward  to  jus- 
tify the  intervention  of  France,  England,  and  Brazil;  but  the  real 
motive  was  the  free  navigation  of  the  Parana,  which  was  secured 
after  the  naval  victory  of  Obligado  won  in  November,  1845,  by  the 
combined  squadrons  of  England  and  France.  We  have  already  seen 
in  the  preceding  chapter  how  this  disastrous  struggle  terminated. 
Oribe,  being  closely  penned  up  by  Urquiza,  suffered  a  decisive  defeat 
on  October  8,  185 1,  by  which  the  liberation  of  Montevideo  was 
secured. 

The  country  could  then  take  breath,  but  the  injury  done  to 
the  national  finances  was  great.  All  progress  had  been  suspended 
and  all  improvement  had  been  put  off  to  a  less  turbulent  time. 
Hitherto  stock-raising,  which  constituted  the  principal  wealth  of 
Uruguay,  had  been  limited  to  horned  cattle,  horses  and  mules; 
sheep-breeding  for  the  production  of  wool  was  now  acquiring  con- 
siderable importance.  With  the  increase  of  sheep  farms  the  value  of 
rural  property  increased  very  much.  Many  French,  English,  and 
Germans  bought  immense  tracts  of  land  suitable  for  pasture,  on 
which  are  now  found  herds  of  50,000  and  60,000  head.  Nothing  is 
more  common  than  to  see  droves  of  10,000  cattle  and  6000  horses. 
Selected  animals  imported  from  Europe,  ranging  on  vast  and  fertile 
pastures,  whose  freshness  is  constantly  maintained  by  clear  streams 
under  a  temjierate  and  salubrious  sun,  multiply  at  a  rate  which 
exceeds  all  calculation.  Thus  the  statistics  for  the  first  three  quar- 
ters of  1866,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  it  had  been  a  very 
turbulent  year,  showed  that  452,834  cattle  and  21,404  horses  were 
slaughtered  and  salted. 

In  the  same  year  the  shearing  of  60,000  sheep  on  a  single  es- 
tate ])roduced  137,425  pounds  of  wool,  and  54,000  head  on  another 
gave  194,700  pounds.  The  cultivation  of  the  yerba  mate  (Paraguay 
tea),  sugar-cane,  and  cotton,  of  the  principal  cereals,  of  tobacco  and 
indigo,  yields  the  colonists  large  crops  in  a  country  where  nature 
has  displayed  such  a  prodigious  bounty  and  exuberance  of  fertility. 
Conditions  would  have  been  perfect  but  for  the  eternal  divisions 
and  subdivisions  of  parties,  and  the  enmity  caused  by  them.     The 


URUGUAY  141 

1853-1866 

Colorados  or  Liberals  constantly  keep  up  the  j^reatest  antagonism  to 
the  Blancos  or  Conservatives,  but,  in  spite  of  all  this  chaos,  a  certain 
material  progress  made  headway,  and  this  is  one  of  the  most 
curious  phenomena  of  these  turbulent  nations,  in  which  life  is  so 
vigorous.  Uruguay,  in  the  midst  of  its  incessant  disturbances,  has 
not  remained  indifferent  to  peaceful  industrial  victories.  Her 
products  attracted  little  attention  at  the  Universal  Exhibition  of 
Paris  in  1855,  which  occurred  shortly  after  her  disasters,  but  took  a 
prominent  place  in  the  exposition  at  London  in  1862;  and  in  the 
Paris  Exposition  of  1867  they  won  a  gold  medal  and  other  well- 
deserved  honors. 

Uruguay  on  January  2,  1859,  entered  into  a  treaty  with 
Argentina  and  Brazil  to  guarantee  Uruguayan  independence  and 
neutrality  in  case  of  war  between  those  two  powers,  who  are  for- 
ever intervening  for  some  motive  or  other  in  her  internal  affairs 
and  accusing  each  other  of  wishing  to  aggrandize  themselves  at  her 
expense. 

The  presidential  election  of  i860  was  peaceful.  Pereira 
counted  on  having  his  son  appointed  as  his  successor,  but  he  was 
defeated  by  a  man  old  in  years,  although  still  strong  and  active. 
This  was  Bernardo  Berro,  an  old  subaltern  of  Oribe.  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Blanco  party.  The  majority  of  preceding  govern- 
ments had  been  distinguished  for  their  arbitrary  acts ;  the  memory 
of  the  dark  scene  of  Quinteros,  in  which  Pereira  had,  without 
mercy,  put  to  death  General  Diaz,  General  Freire.  and  Colonel 
Tajes,  most  distinguished  officers,  was  still  fresh  in  all  minds.  The 
new  president,  who  disapproved  of  such  severity,  delivered  on  Feb- 
ruary 15,  1 861,  on  the  opening  of  the  chambers,  a  moderate  and 
pacific  speech,  and  had  a  law  passed  which  was  not  successful  in 
bringing  back  the  exiled  Colorados.  On  the  contrary,  they  assem- 
bled on  the  Argentine  frontier  in  readiness  to  throw  themselves  at 
the  first  opportunity  on  the  conquering  party  and  wrest  the  power 
from  them. 

At  first  neither  order  nor  labor  was  disturbed,  and  scarcely 
anybody  attached  any  importance  to  the  almost  daily  changes  of 
obscure  ministers  whom  Berro  abruptly  dismissed  when  it  appeared 
that  they  would  acquire  some  influence.  The  regulation  of  the 
English  and  French  loans,  to  the  payment  of  which  the  receipts  on 
stamped  paper  were  allotted,  led  to  some  diplomatic  difficulties. 
Causes  of  friction  with  the  powers  of  the  Old  World  were  of 


112  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1863-1864 

various  kinds  and  arose  continually  from  some  slight  incident  or 
other.  Because  a  warrant  officer  had  received  some  sword  cuts 
and  a  seaman  had  hcen  ill-treated  in  Montevideo,  Italy  and  England 
made  threats.  Due  satisfaction  was  given  to  these  powers,  but 
unwillingly  and  without  dignity,  in  such  fashion  that  this  weakness 
of  the  government  was  made  manifest.  For  some  months  a  pro- 
visional ministry  had  been  at  the  head  of  affairs,  and  on  January 
21,  1863,  President  Cerro  endeavored  to  form  a  more  homogeneous 
and  representative  Cabinet,  but  the  political  situation  was  not 
materially  altered.  The  president  followed  with  restless  eyes  the 
progress  of  the  plot  that  the  Uruguayan  exiles  were  hatching  in 
Buenos  Ayres,  became  shaken  and  unnerved,  and  had  recourse  to 
those  violent  measures  against  the  press  and  those  acts  of  severity 
against  individuals  which  never  save  any  government  from  danger 
and  often  hasten  its  fall. 

On  April  19,  1863,  General  Venancio  Flores,  exiled  leader  of 
the  Colorado  party  and  ex-president  of  Uruguay,  who  had  been 
admitted  into  the  Argentine  army  and  taken  part  in  the  battle  of 
Pabon,  disembarked  on  the  east  coast  and  called  upon  the  country 
to  rise.  The  divisions  in  the  opposite  party  and  the  discontent 
jjroduced  by  a  feeble  administration,  made  the  enterprise  easier. 
The  terrified  Chambers  declared  Flores  guilty  of  high  treason.  The 
government,  seized  with  panic,  took  measure  after  measure,  send- 
ing troops  in  all  directions  and  thus  dispersing  its  forces.  Alonte- 
vidco  was  restless  and  torn  by  faction;  the  country  people  sunk  in 
indifference  and  disposed  to  bear  the  yoke  of  the  conqueror,  either 
Blanco  <n-  Colorado.  The  ill-dissembled  connivance  of  Buenos 
Ayres  gave  much  strength  and  importance  to  the  movement.  At 
the  beginning  of  August  Plores  was  some  three  leagues  from 
Montevideo,  where  he  was  attacked  and  defeated  by  the  old  General 
Medina;  but  before  his  whereabouts  was  generally  known,  Flores 
took  the  (offensive,  marched  forty-five  leagues  in  thirty-six  hours, 
fell  u])on  General  Diego  Lamas  and  completely  routed  him. 

Berro  was  ncaring  the  end  of  his  term  and  his  discouragement 
was  extreme.  lie  was  accused  by  the  ultra-Conservatives  of  a 
<ccrct  understanding  with  Flores;  in  conflict  with  the  Chambers 
which  he  finally  dissolved;  confronted  by  an  empty  treasury  and 
unable  to  feed  or  clothe  his  army:  and  impatient  to  leave  the 
power  in  other  hands.  His  successor,  Anastasio  Aguirre,  who  like 
himself,  belonged  to  the  Blanco  party,  took  office  on  March  i,  1864. 


URUGUAY  143 

1864-1865 

The  crisis  had  reached  its  height,  and  it  seemed  for  a  moinent  that 
the  foreign  diplomatic  agents  resident  in  Montevideo  would  inter- 
vene. But  this  was  a  vain  hope;  the  situation  became  more  com- 
plicated ;  certain  international  difficulties  relating  to  territory  caused 
the  Argentine  Republic  and  Brazil  to  combine  against  Uruguay, 
and  then  it  w^as  that  Paraguay,  threatened  by  that  alliance  and  find- 
ing herself  threatened  by  the  claims  of  the  allies,  took  part  in  the 
conflict.  The  fate  that  awaited  her  is  already  known.  Xot  con- 
tent with  raising  the  greatest  obstacles  for  the  Cabinet  of  Monte- 
video, Brazil  and  the  Argentine  Republic  favored  the  insurrection. 
Brazil  especially  w'ould  not  have  been  displeased  to  see  a  govern- 
ment which  was  hostile  to  her  replaced  by  another  which,  owing 
much  to  her,  would  naturally  show  itself  more  complacent.  Em- 
boldened by  that  attitude,  Flores,  who  was  master  of  the  west, 
founded  a  government  and  collected  taxes  there.  Toward  the 
month  of  June  an  arrangement  appeared  possible  between  Brazil. 
tlie  Argentine  Republic,  Flores,  and  Aguirre,  but,  as  the  Cabinet  it 
was  desired  to  impose  on  the  latter  was  wholly  composed  of 
tlie  friends  of  Flores.  Aguirre  refused  the  combination  aiid  war 
became  inevitable.  The  Brazilian  ultimatum  was  sent  to  Uruguay 
on  August  4,  in  wdiich  all  the  grievances  of  the  Cabinet  of  Rio 
Janeiro  since  1858  were  recapitulated.  It  demanded  indemnities 
for  natives  of  Brazil  who  had  suffered  in  the  civil  wars,  and  fixed 
the  term  of  six  days,  at  the  expiration  of  which  an  appeal  to  arms 
would  be  made.  Brazil  rejected  the  arbitration  of  a  third  power, 
and  commenced  hostilities. 

Montevideo  improvised  an  army  of  defense,  enlisting  all  citi- 
zens between  sixteen  and  sixty  years  of  age,  including  those  im- 
prisoned for  crime,  and  when  her  resources  were  exhausted  appealed 
to  the  legations  and  the  foreign  naval  forces  to  guarantee  the  safety 
of  the  city  and  the  port.  Aguirre  had  allied  himself  with  Lopez, 
but  the  latter  did  not  think  the  moment  opportune  for  intervention. 
Flores  w^as  declared  an  outlaw,  and  responded  to  the  empty  threat 
by  an  assault  on  the  capital  of  Florida,  seized  Durazno,  and  ap- 
peared before  Salto,  which  the  Brazilian  squadron  was  bom- 
barding. 

The  declaration  of  war  by  Paraguay  against  Brazil  at  this 
juncture  did  not  prevent  6000  Brazilians  from  joining  Flores  and 
attacking  Paysandu,  which  was  given  up  to  pillage.  The  fall  of  this 
town  exasperated  Montevideo.     The  overthrow  of  the  government 


lU  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1865 

was  demanded  and  committees  of  public  safety  were  set  up.  On 
January  4,  1865,  the  republic  was  declared  to  be  in  mourning 
and  the  treaties  with  Brazil  were  publicly  burned.  In  its  panic 
the  Blanco  party  proposed  humiliating  measures,  rejected  the 
arbitration  of  j\Iitre,  and  refused  to  do  anything  for  peace. 
Terror  had  reached  its  height.  The  rich  fled,  the  poor  died  of 
hunger,  provisions  did  not  arrive,  8000  Brazilians  w^ere  encamped 
close  to  the  walls  of  the  city,  and  thirteen  steamers  blockaded  the 
port.  On  February  15  Aguirre  resigned  his  authority  to  Villalba, 
who  was  elected  the  same  morning  by  seven  senators,  all  who  could 
be  got  together. 

Villalba  saved  Montevideo  by  a  convention  that  secured  the 
triumph  of  the  Colorados.  On  the  21st  he  resigned  his  authority 
to  a  lieutenant  of  Flores,  and  on  the  23rd  Flores  made  a  triumphal 
entry  into  Montevideo,  while  a  ship  carried  away  Aguirre  and  the 
other  chiefs  of  the  Blanco  party.  Public  festivities  took  place,  and 
some  weeks  were  spent  in  singing  the  "  Te  Deum,"  in  theatrical 
performances,  banquets,  speeches,  and  distribution  of  medals  and 
flags.  Flores  took  the  title  of  provisional  governor  of  the  re- 
])ublic,  formed  a  ministry,  censured  the  acts  of  his  predecessor 
with  respect  to  the  Cabinets  of  Buenos  Ay  res  and  Rio  Janeiro,  and 
published  a  decree  relative  to  banks.  Another  decree  stirred  up 
bitter  criticism ;  it  restored  to  the  religious  associations,  and  espe- 
cially the  Jesuits,  who  had  been  expelled  by  an  order  of  January  26, 
1859,  the  power  to  establish  schools.  Flores  made  a  treaty  of  of- 
fensive alliance  with  Brazil  and  the  Argentine  Republic  against  the 
President  of  Paraguay,  the  ally  of  the  Blancos,  so  that  the  triumph 
of  the  Colorados  was  the  beginning  of  a  general  war  among  the 
states  of  the  La  Plata. 

On  June  23  Flores  delegated  the  executive  power  to  the 
Minister  of  the  Interior.  Vidal.  and  started  for  the  front  Avith  his 
two  sons,  young  officers  of  sixteen  and  twenty-five  years  of  age 
respectively.  A  decree  of  the  14th  had  ordered  one  man  out  of 
every  ten  in  the  national  guard  to  be  drawn  by  lot  for  the  purpose 
of  forming  an  army  corps  to  march  against  Paraguay.  This  new 
levy  was  ill  received,  and  could  not  be  immediately  enforced. 

Vidal  succeeded  in  putting  the  finances  in  better  condition,  and 
mtroduced  imp(jrtant  improvements  into  the  postal  system.  A 
project  for  the  survey  and  valuation  of  lands  {Cadastre)  was 
f'.»rnuilalc(l.     His  government  sought  to  preserve  an  absolute  neu- 


URUGUAY  145 

1865-1868 

trality  in  the  Hispano-Chilian  quarrel,  which  then  fixed  the  atten- 
tion of  all  America,  and  this  resulted  in  a  short-lived  rupture  with 
Chili. 

The  allies,  after  some  slight  successes,  were  defeated  Septem- 
ber 22  at  Curupayti.  After  this  check  Flores  quitted  the  camp  with- 
out dissembling  his  disapproval  of  the  conduct  of  the  operations,  left 
the  remains  of  the  Uruguayan  contingent  under  General  Castro,  and 
returned  to  Montevideo,  where  the  provisional  government  had  to 
contend  with  the  disobedience  of  the  prefects  of  departments  and 
the  insubordination  of  the  famous  Liber  tad  battalion,  commanded 
by  one  of  the  sons  of  Flores.  The  latter  visited  the  provinces  and 
infused  energy  into  the  whole  administration.  Material  prosperity 
and  the  commercial  importance  of  Montevideo  increased  rapidly. 
The  cholera,  which  attacked  the  capital  twice  in  1867,  continued 
to  decimate  the  inhabitants.  The  cities  that  had  suffered  in  the  civil 
struggle  repaired  their  losses.  Numerous  bodies  of  emigrants 
from  Latin  Europe  continued  to  settle  in  Uruguay,  and  even  Ger- 
many and  Switzerland  sent  whole  colonies.  A  submarine  electric 
telegraph  united  Montevideo  with  Buenos  Ayres,  and  railway  con- 
cessions were  granted,  which  would  ultimately  give  the  country 
means  of  communication  hitherto  unknown  in  the  republic.  The 
stock-exchange  and  the  general  postoffice  at  Montevideo  were 
completed;  the  customs  buildings  were  enlarged;  a  hospital,  an 
orphan  asylum,  a  penitentiary,  and  a  market  were  built.  General 
commerce  exceeded  $30,800,000  a  year,  and  2865  vessels  of  about 
335,000  tons  entered  and  left  the  port  of  Montevideo  annually. 
These  figures  may  give  an  idea  of  the  activity  of  business  in  the 
midst  of  the  gravest  political  complications.  In  a  single  month 
$291,344  was  collected  in  duties,  a  figure  which  had  never  before 
been  reached.  A  commission  was  appointed  to  revise  the  commer- 
cial code,  the  civil  and  criminal  laws  and  the  code  of  procedure. 
The  civil  code  was  finished  and  published  at  the  beginning  of  1868. 

Representative  government  had  not  yet  been  established. 
Flores,  yielding  to  the  pressure  of  public  opinion,  w^arned  by  the 
attitude  of  the  United  States,  which  was  little  inclined  to  recognize 
a  dictatorship,  and  perhaps  weary  of  such  a  heavy  responsibility, 
ordered  general  elections  to  be  held,  and  they  took  place  without 
disturbance  at  the  end  of  1867.  He  had  promised  to  resign 
his  authority  into  the  hands  of  the  newly  elected  chamber  on 
February   15,   1868.     Flores  had  many  enemies;  he  was  accused 


14G  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1868-1876 

of  having  sold  the  independence  of  Montevideo  and  the  entry 
to  the  River  La  Plata  to  Brazil.  His  life  had  already  been  at- 
tempted and  his  palace  undermined,  and  now  he  was  assassinated 
at  the  beginning  of  1868.  General  Lorenzo  Batlle,  who  belonged 
to  the  Colorado  party,  succeeded  him  on  March  2,  and  although  he 
saw  the  end  of  the  war  with  Paraguay,  he  had  to  maintain  an  ener- 
getic struggle  with  the  Blancos,  who  were  in  insurrection  under 
their  most  influential  leaders  until  January,  1872.  An  armistice 
was  then  signed  between  the  insurgent  forces  and  Dr.  Gomen- 
soro,  president  of  the  Senate,  and  ex  oiUcio  provisional  gov- 
ernor of  the  republic.  At  length  a  treaty  was  concluded  on  April 
6  of  this  year  through  the  intervention  of  the  Argentine  Republic, 
and  there  were  public  rejoicings  for  three  days  to  put  the  seal  to 
this  reconciliation.  The  elections  were  approaching  and  clubs  were 
formed  in  which  lists  of  candidates  were  drawn  up.  These  organ- 
izations were  the  genuine  expression  of  the  parties  such  as  they 
were  at  that  period;  Red  {Colorado),  White  (Blanco),  and  Radical. 
The  Radicals  were  young  men  desirous  of  forming  a  new  Liberal 
party,  doing  away  with  the  old  parties  who  had  kept  the  republic 
(li\idcd  for  so  long.  The  new  Chambers  met  to  canvass  the  votes 
in  February,  1873.  The  Senate  elected  as  its  president  Dr.  Jose 
Ellauri,  and  on  March  i  he  was  called  to  the  presidency  of  the 
rejuiblic.  During  his  administration  Uruguay  was  placed  in  direct 
telegraphic  communication  with  Europe  by  the  installation  of  a 
transatlantic  cable. 

Ellauri,  like  his  predecessors,  saw  his  authority  attacked  by 
arms,  and  in  December,  1874,  the  troops  collected  and  organized  to 
I)ut  down  the  insurrection,  refused  to  march  and  demanded  the  dis- 
missal of  the  ministry.  Don  Pedro  Varela  was  chosen  to  replace 
1-Jlauri  in  March,  1875,  and  found  tinancial  and  commercial  affairs 
in  great  confusion.  A  year  had  scarcely  elapsed  when  he  resigned, 
and  in  1876  Colonel  Lorenzo  Latorrc  took  the  title  of  provisional 
governor  of  the  republic.  The  succeeding  years  of  Uruguayan 
histor\  were  marked  by  the  accession  to  power  of  the  Red  party 
and  the  opening  of  the  country  to  foreigners,  who  come  in  at  the 
rate  of  15,000  to  20,000  a  year,  mostly  Basques  and  Italians. 


Chapter    X 

THE    REPUBLIC    OF    PARAGUAY.    1811-1876 

PARAGUAY  is  an  exception  in  the  turbulent  histor}^  of  the 
American  republics.  An  unbroken  but  sterile  peace  reigned 
during  the  first  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  in  this  hermit 
nation,  where  internal  crises  never  became  acclimated.  After  her  es- 
cape from  Spanish  rule  and  until  she  was  crushed  in  1865,  she  lived 
without  shocks,  not  daring  to  raise  her  head,  and  completely  sep- 
arated from  the  other  nations.  Her  government,  despotic  and  jeal- 
ous, and  hostile  to  the  foreigner,  knew  how  to  control  her  in  its  own 
way.  We  do  not  envy  any  people  the  particular  kind  of  peace 
brought  about  by  the  Asiatic  tyranny  of  a  Francia.  This  strange 
personage  swaddled  this  new-born  nation  in  such  tight  bands  that 
she  could  not  move,  and  therefore  could  not  grow.  He  isolated  her 
from  the  rest  of  the  world,  favored  by  the  remoteness  of  the  country 
from  the  sea.  Woe  to  the  traveler  who  dared  to  tread  the  Para- 
guayan soil,  since  he  expiated  his  rashness  by  a  detention  that  might 
last  ten  years,  as  in  the  case  of  the  botanist,  Bonpland. 

In  the  month  of  May,  181 1,  Paraguay  had  her  revolution, 
which  was  effected  without  bloodshed.  The  movement  was 
not  only  directed  against  the  age-long  authority  of  the  mother 
country,  but  also  against  that  recently  improvised  at  Buenos  Ayres. 
From  an  assembly  which  met  in  the  following  month  was  evolved 
an  executive  junta  with  Fulgencio  Yegros  for  president,  and  Fran- 
cia for  secretary.  The  first  was  a  man  of  little  education  and  little 
aptitude  for  business.  We  shall  soon  see  what  were  the  qualities  of 
the  second.  The  junta  decreed  the  independence  of  Paraguay, 
which  was  soon  acknowledged  by  Buenos  Ayres  in  the  Treaty  of 
Asuncion,  and  two  years  afterward  a  new  Congress  of  1000 
deputies  met.  The  junta  was  replaced  by  two  consuls,  Yegros  and 
Francia.  Two  curule  chairs  had  been  erected  for  them,  called  re- 
spectively CcTsar's  and  Pompey's.  On  entering  on  the  duties  of  the 
office  Francia  occupied  the  first,  leaving  the  other  for  his  companion 
in  power.  It  was  not  very  difficult  for  the  former  to  concentrate 
all  the  branches  of  the  administration  in  his  own  hands.     He  ap- 

147 


148  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1814-1816 

l)ointecl  a  Secretary  of  State,  endeavored  to  establish  order  in  the 
finances  and  reorganize  tlie  army,  and  deprived  the  Spaniards  of 
civil  rights,  with  the  object  of  winning  over  the  sympathies  of  the 
aborigines.  But  he  was  not  a  man  to  share  his  power,  and  the  Con- 
gress, composed  for  the  most  part  of  simple  and  ignorant  men, 
accepted  the  idea  of  a  sovereign  magistracy  as  the  only  means  of 
saving  the  republic,  which  was  threatened  from  abroad;  and  on 
October  8.  1814.  he  was  appointed  dictator  for  three  years.  But 
this  power,  because  limited  in  time,  could  not  completely  satisfy 
Rodrigue/.  de  Francia,  and  on  May  i,  1816,  the  newly  convoked 
Congress  proclaimed  him  supreme  and  perpetual  dictator. 

Jose  Caspar  Rodriguez  de  Francia,  who  w^as  to  make  Paraguay 
feel,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  the  weight  of  one  of  the  most 
singular  tyrannies  recorded  by  history,  ruled  over  a  population 
trained  to  obedience  by  the  Jesuits,  stupid,  ignorant  of  arts  and 
industry,  and  with  a  mere  rudimentary  knowledge  of  agriculture, 
lie  was  then  fifty-nine  years  old,  of  medium  stature,  lean  and  vigor- 
ous, with  black  and  penetrating  eyes.  Fie  claimed  French  descent 
tiirough  his  father,  who  was  invited  by  the  Spanish  government  of 
15razil  to  Paraguay  to  introduce  the  manufacture  of  tobacco,  and 
married  there.  Francia  had  been  destined  in  his  youth  for  an 
ecclesiastical  career,  and  commenced  his  studies  in  the  seminary  of 
Asuncion,  finishing  them  in  the  University  of  Cordoba,  in  Tucu- 
man.  After  receiving  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Canon  Law  and  an 
ap])ointment  to  a  chair  of  theology,  he  renounced  orders,  studied 
jurisprudence,  and  became  a  lawyer.  Clever,  eloquent,  disinter- 
e>ted,  always  ready  to  defend  the  weak  against  the  strong  and  the 
poor  against  the  rich,  he  soon  came  into  notice,  and  w'as  successively 
elected  a  member  f)f  the  municipality,  then  corporation  counsel  and 
mayor.  We  have  seen  how  he  became  secretary  of  the  state  junta, 
consul  and  dictator.  He  was  a  curious  composite  of  good  and 
bad  qualities  and  carried  into  the  dictatorship  the  same  disinter- 
estedness that  he  had  shown  in  private  life.  Though  generous 
v.ith  his  jiersonal  wealth,  he  was  economical  with  the  public  funds, 
and  would  accept  no  more  than  $3000  of  the  $9000  that  the  Con- 
gress had  assigned  for  his  household.  He  made  it  a  rule  not  to 
receive  any  presents,  and  })aid  for  all  that  were  presented  to  him 
or  returned  tliem  to  the  sender.  He  had  heard  in  his  youth  of  the 
despotism  of  the  Jesuits,  of  their  ambition,  of  their  dark  and  hidden 
intrigues.    He  was  educated  by  the  Franciscan  friars,  but  had  cause 


PARAGUAY  U9 

1816-1826 

to  dislike  them,  and  very  early  conceived  an  insurmountable  aversion 
for  the  outward  forms  of  religion,  which  he  considered  gross  trick- 
cry.  At  the  beginning  of  his  dictatorship  he  went  to  mass  everv 
day,  but  very  soon  he  ceased  to  appear  at  church  and  dismissed  his 
chaplain;  from  that  time  he  took  pleasure  in  ridiculing  the  priests, 
whom  he  accused  of  impudently  selling  mysteries  that  they  them- 
selves did  not  understand.  "  The  priests  and  religion,"'  said  he, 
"  serve  more  to  make  men  believe  in  the  devil  than  in  God  " :  and 
declared  that  if  the  Pope  should  come  to  Paraguay  he  would  make 
him  his  chaplain. 

Rodriguez  de  P'rancia  reestablished  the  system  of  isolation 
adopted  by  the  old  missions.  Under  pretense  of  preserving  his 
country  from  the  contagion  of  anarchy  and  at  the  same  time  with- 
drawing it  from  the  project  of  absorption  that  was  attributed  to 
Brazil,  he  prohibited,  under  the  most  severe  penalties,  all  communi- 
cation between  the  inhabitants  of  Paraguay  and  their  neighbors, 
and  forbade  any  foreigner  to  enter  the  country.  In  1826  he  decreed 
the  penalty  of  death  and  deprivation  of  burial  against  all  who,  call- 
ing themselves  envoys  from  the  court  of  Spain,  should  cross  the 
frontier  of  Paraguay  without  previous  authorization,  and  against 
all  natives  who,  on  receiving  any  letter  from  foreign  parts  upon 
political  affairs,  should  not  immediately  present  it  to  the  tribunals. 
These  excessively  severe  measures  may  have  been  occasioned 
by  the  conduct  of  the  Cabinet  of  Madrid  toward  an  agent  of 
the  dictator  appointed  to  carry  out.  with  the  assistance  of  Queen 
Charlotte,  certain  negotiations  whose  real  object  is  not  very  well 
known,  in  which  some  have  chosen  to  see  a  piece  of  deception, 
and  others  a  project  which  was  to  result  in  the  reacquisition  of 
Paraguay  by  Spain.  The  fact  is  that,  at  this  time,  either  through 
anxiety  or  weariness  with  the  negotiations,  or  simply  to  consolidate 
his  authority  by  getting  himself  reappointed  to  power,  the  dictator 
convoked  a  species  of  national  assembly,  which,  on  September  24, 
1826,  ratified  a  declaration  of  independence  submitted  by  him  be- 
cause of  the  rejection  of  his  proposals  by  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment. After  a  military  conspiracy  had  been  opportunely  dis- 
covered, a  colonel  named  Avendano  was  condemned  to  death, 
and  under  these  circumstances  Francia  was  entreated  to  resume  the 
authority  that  he  had  laid  down  (November  4).  He  consented  at 
last,  but  not  without  some  pressure,  and  solely,  he  said,  while  w^ait- 
ing'for  the  return  of  the  .Marquis  de  Guarano,  his  envoy  to  the 


150  SOUTH     x\  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1826-1840 

Spanisli  government,  whom  he  named  as  his  next  successor.  His 
schemes  were  thus  accompHshed  and  the  country  again  fell  under 
the  yoke  of  the  terrible  doctor. 

Francia  has  found  apologists.  This  country,  kept  in  absolute 
subordination  among  states  stirred  by  all  the  storms  of  politics, 
in  consonance  with  the  ardent  youthfulness  of  their  peoples;  this 
country,  the  model  of  passivity,  has  excited  the  admiration  of 
the  partisans  of  order  at  any  price.  Abuse  of  authority,  prosecu- 
tions, tortures,  proscriptions,  and  the  thousand  odious  means  em- 
ployed by  that  exacting  master  to  satisfy  his  insatiable  thirst  for 
unlimited  power,  have  been  forgotten.  The  internal  organization 
of  the  country,  its  military  power  and  industrial  progress  under 
his  leadership  are  eulogized.  Undoubtedly  his  system  resulted  in 
forming  a  nationality  of  part  of  the  Indian  race,  which  has  re- 
mained nomadic  and  uncivilized  in  the  rest  of  America,  and  pro- 
duced a  great  military  power,  as  was  shown  by  the  very  duration 
and  intensity  of  the  war  which  destroyed  it ;  but  even  conceding  all 
this,  and  without  endeavoring  to  prove  that  a  different  system 
might  lead  to  the  same  result,  how  can  we  fail  to  see  that  all 
these  pretended  benefits  of  tyranny  are  reducible  to  the  capricious 
regulation  of  a  stifling  monopoly. 

In  a  word,  what  productive  thought  did  this  wonderful  soil 
of  Paraguay,  which  without  cultivation  yields  two  crops  annually, 
inspire  in  Francia?  Taking  up  the  mercantile  traditions  of  the 
Jesuits,  he  seized  the  crops  and  stored  them  for  the  account  of  a 
government  which  absorbed  all  functions,  public  and  private, 
possessed  two-thirds  of  the  land,  and  disposed  at  will  of  the  soil 
and  its  inhabitants.  He  undertook  the  exchange  of  products,  and 
became  a  merchant  in  imitation  of  the  priest-brokers.  When  hands 
were  needed  for  the  harvest  he  had  recourse  to  the  draft,  apply- 
ing the  system  of  forced  labor  on  behalf  of  the  state.  Never- 
theless, he  had  to  acknowledge,  in  time,  that  complete  sequestration 
was  impossible,  since  it  must  necessarily  deprive  him  of  resources 
that  were  indispensable.  He  opened  then  a  point  of  communica- 
tion on  the  Brazilian  frontier,  and  established  under  the  vigilance 
of  his  soldiers  a  sort  of  exchange  for  commercial  transactions;  but, 
fearing  that  this  innovation  would  produce  vexatious  results  for 
his  secretive  policy,  this  man  averted  the  danger  by  monopolizing 
tlic  trade.  It  was  necessary  to  obtain  a  formal  license,  signed  and 
delivered  by  l;ini.  in  order  to  undertake  these  operations.     Besides, 


PAllAGTTAY  151 

1826-1840 

he  settled  the  tariff  on  goods  thus  imported  and  sold  them,  c<^n- 
stitnted  himself  the  sole  purveyor  of  European  articles,  which  were 
deposited  in  a  kind  of  bazaar  under  military  guard,  and  the  (|uantity 
of  these  articles  that  each  purchaser  could  acquire  was  determined 
with  care. 

Of  course  this  strange  economic  system  was  not  calculated 
to  aid  the  development  of  agriculture,  commerce,  and  industry.  It 
led  to  the  prohibition  of  individual  effort  and  of  progress.  Thanks 
to  it,  every  profitable  enterprise  was  paralyzed.  The  price  of  a 
plain  cotton  handkerchief  of  English  manufacture  was  twenty  reals 
(one  dollar).  But  did  not  Erancia  keep  a  store  of  produce,  arms, 
and  ammunition?  For  him  that  was  the  essential  thing.  Every- 
thing shows  that  his  sole  preoccupation  was  less  to  develop  pro- 
ductive forces  than  to  subordinate  their  strength  to  the  ends  of  a 
policy  of  absolute  monopoly.  His  ambition  was  to  be  able  to  dis- 
pense with  intercourse  with  foreign  countries. 

He  possessed  a  very  miscellaneous  library,  in  which  were 
found,  wdth  the  works  of  Voltaire,  Rousseau,  and  Montesquieu, 
treatises  on  medicine,  mathematics,  and  geography,  and  a  Erench 
dictionary  of  arts  and  trades,  which  he  valued  very  much  and 
frequently  consulted.  Erom  this  book  he  got  the  idea  of  establish- 
ing manufactures  and  workshops,  lavishing  money  and  threats  at 
the  same  time  in  order  to  stimulate  the  zeal  of  the  workmen  en- 
gaged on  that  task.  Once  he  condemned  an  awkward  blacksmith 
to  hard  labor,  another  time  he  had  a  gallows  erected  and  gave  an 
unfortunate  shoemaker  the  alternative  of  being  richly  rewarded  if 
he  succeeded  in  his  task,  or  being  hanged  if  he  failed.  Erancia 
prescribed  the  system  which  must  be  employed  in  the  cultivation  of 
the  fields.  Abundant  crops,  which  w^ere  easily  obtained  from^  the 
extraordinary  fertility  of  the  soil,  appeared  to  justify  the  agricul- 
tural pretensions  of  the  dictator,  and  agricultural  economy  took  a 
step  in  advance,  but  it  w^as  a  short  one.  Everything  remained  in  a 
rudimentary  state.  A  stake  served  for  a  plow,  wheat  was  ground 
in  mortars,  a  sugar  mill  was  a  piece  of  wood  moved  by  oxen ;  cotton 
was  cleaned  of  its  seed  by  hand,  then  spun  on  a  spindle  and  put  into 
the  hands  of  some  traveling  weaver,  who  carried  his  loom  on  the 
back  of  a  mule  and  hung  it  from  the  branch  of  a  tree. 

This  very  peculiar  man  once  conceived  the  idea  of  beautifying 
Asuncion.  Behold  him  drawing  plans  with  his  own  hand,  and 
mingling    with    the    workmen,    overseeing    their    labors.     But    in 


152  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

,    1826-1840 

this  his  inexperience  was  demonstrated,  and  instead  of  being  im- 
proved the  capital  was  turned  upside  down.  He  was,  however, 
more  fortunate  in  laying  out  roads  and  in  putting  the  fortified 
towns  and  Asuncion  in  a  state  of  defense.  A  new  city,  Tebego, 
was  founded  under  his  auspices  in  the  northern  parts  as  a  military 
post,  intended  to  keep  in  check  the  Indian  savages.  In  addition  the 
dictator  had  fortified  himself  against  every  attempt  at  internal  re- 
bellion or  foreign  aggression  by  creating  an  armed  force  capable 
of  imposing  restraints  on  the  neighboring  states  as  well  as  on  his 
subjects  and  the  Indian  tribes. 

As  to  the  natives  scattered  in  the  old  Missions,  he  went  on  little 
by  little  bringing  them  under  the  yoke  and  obliging  them  to  work 
on  the  land,  incorporating  them  in  the  general  body  of  citizens,  and 
thereby  increasing  his  military  strength.  His  forces  at  length 
reached  the  number  of  20,000  militia  and  5000  regular  troops,  both 
well  drilled  in  the  use  of  arms  and  provided  with  excellent  cavalry. 
The  dictator's  bodyguard  was  composed  of  picked  grenadiers  or 
gendarmes.  They  performed  the  duties  of  police,  and  guarded 
the  old  palace  of  the  Spanish  governors  when  the  dictator  lived  in 
isolation  after  ordering  the  demolition  of  the  houses  surrounding  it. 
There  in  retirement  with  his  drunken  mulatto  barber,  who  served 
as  confidant  to  tliis  modern  Louis  XI.,  and  as  gazette  to  make  the 
public  acquainted  with  his  projects;  with  his  half-breed  secretary 
Patinos,  an  insrjlent  scribe,  who  revenged  himself  on  the  public 
for  the  ill-treatment  received  from  his  master;  and  waited  on  by 
four  slaves,  two  men  and  two  women,  Francia,  always  restless 
and  uneasy,  seeing  nothing  but  conspiracies  everywhere,  lived  mys- 
teriously, after  the  austere  and  simple  manner  of  a  monk,  never 
slce])ing  successively  in  the  same  room,  in  order  that  it  should  not 
be  known  where  he  passed  the  night.  At  the  age  of  seventy  he 
married  a  young  l-'renchwoman.  He  concealed  his  sympathy  for 
1- ranee,  but  greatly  admired  Robespierre  and  Napoleon.  Curiously 
drcsserl,  as  he  su[)posed  to  resemble  the  latter,  in  a  costume  copied 
from  a  German  caricature,  consisting  of  a  blue  coat  with  gold  lace, 
Spanish  epaulettes,  white  breeches  and  waistcoat,  silk  stockings  and 
broad-toed  shoes,  and  armed  with  a  large  sword  and  pistols,  he 
himself  drilled  his  troops,  who,  if  they  were  subject  to  severe  dis- 
cipline under  arms,  had  a  liberty  that  bordered  on  license  when 
they  were  not. 

With  such  an  army,  and  a  population  completely  subjugated. 


PARAGUAY  15.'J 

1826-1840 

Francia  could  satisfy  his  dominating  and  cruel  instincts.  i'"roni 
the  beginning-  he  had  imprisoned,  deported  to  his  colony  of  Tebcgo, 
shot  or  hanged  every  man  who  resisted  his  terrible  intjuisitorial 
system,  on  the  old  pretext  that  a  plot  against  his  person  was  treason 
to  the  state.  Yegros,  who  had  been  his  companion  in  the  consulate, 
was  one  of  his  first  victims.  He  was  accused  of  favoring  the  i)ro- 
jects  of  Ramirez,  who  meditated  invading  Paraguay  ivom  luitrc 
Rios,  and  was  condemned  to  death  in  1819  with  forty  other  citizens. 
jMore  than  300  persons,  imprisoned  for  the  same  cause,  were  con- 
demned in  a  body  to  pay  very  dearly  for  their  liberty,  after  eighteen 
months  of  daily  tortures.  Francia  had  no  mercy  for  his  prisoners, 
and  had  his  special  manner  of  putting  them  to  the  torture,  renewing 
their  sufferings,  and  making  his  vengeance  a  sort  of  feast.  His  cat- 
like nature  grew  more  cruel  at  the  sight  of  the  terror  of  these  miser- 
able wretches,  and  his  eyes,  like  those  of  a  jackal  looking  for  prey, 
followed  them  even  to  the  scaffold.  Some  have  deduced  from  this 
that,  like  his  brothers,  he  had  a  tendency  to  madness;  he  was  cer- 
tainly subject  to  frequent  attacks  of  hypochondria,  and  he  was  in 
that  condition  when  he  decreed  the  proscriptions  and  his  most 
ferocious  follies.  Unfortunate  was  he  who  at  such  a  time  ad- 
dressed him  in  writing  or  by  word  of  mouth  and  omitted  to  call  him 
Most  Excellent  Lord  and  Perpetual  Dictator !  Unfortunate  was  he 
who,  in  order  to  speak  to  him,  approached  him  too  closely  and  did 
not  keep  his  hands  well  in  view  to  show  that  he  had  no  hidden 
arms,  for  the  disease  of  suspicion  gave  him  no  respite,  and  every- 
where he  saw  nothing  but  treason,  daggers,  and  assassins.  He  had 
a  countrywoman  arrested  because  she  approached  the  window  near 
which  he  was  w^orking,  and  ordered  his  troops  to  fire  on  anyone 
who  dared  to  look  at  his  palace.  An  Indian  very  nearly  paid  dearly 
for  that  order,  which  was  given  under  the  idea  that  this  poor 
woman  might  be  another  Charlotte  Corday;  but  we  must  say,  in 
acquittal  of  Francia,  that  he  revoked  it.  A  numerous  escort  accom- 
panied the  dictator  when  he  went  out.  As  soon  as  he  put  his  foot 
outside  the  palace  the  bell  of  the  cathedral  tolled  and  the  inhabitants 
went  into  their  houses  saying  '^  His  Highness  (El  Supremo)  !  "  If 
any  one,  too  slow  in  hiding,  met  the  dreaded  company,  he  threw 
himself  face  down  upon  the  ground,  not  daring  to  lift  his  eyes  to 
that  cold  countenance  which  imposed  the  silence  of  fear. 

Death  came  upon  him  when  he  was  at  the  height  of  his  power, 
after  a  few  days'  illness,  during  which  he  went  on  attending  to 


154.  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1840 

business,  refusing  all  assistance  and  forbidding  entrance  into  his 
room  to  anyone  who  was  not  called  by  him.  He  was  asked  in  vain 
to  appoint  a  successor  to  preserve  the  country  from  anarchy;  he 
answered  bluntly  that  there  would  be  no  want  of  heirs.  That  he 
did  not  end  his  life  with  a  crime  was  owing  to  an  accident ;  in  a  fit  of 
anger  against  his  curandero,  a  sort  of  quack  doctor  who  attended 
him,  he  jumped  out  of  bed,  seized  a  sword  and  rushed  upon 
him.  but  fell  down,  struck  by  a  fit  of  apoplexy.  No  one  dared  to 
help  him,  against  his  orders,  and  he  died  on  the  morning  of  Septem- 
ber 20,  1840,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years.  He  had  a  splendid 
funeral  and  a  mausoleum  was  erected  to  him,  but  was  destroyed 
during  the  night  by  unknown  hands. 

Thus  ended  this  strange  personage,  a  mysterious  genius  whose 
silhouette  is  distorted  into  caricature;  an  insoluble  problem  for 
Europeans,  whom  one  of  his  victims,  the  Swiss  traveler  Reugger, 
has  compared  to  the  man  of  Brumaire.  It  may  at  least  be  said  in 
favor  of  the  despot  of  Asuncion,  that  he  had  no  Waterloo  and  did 
not  prepare  a  Sedan.  Napoleon  was  a  real  retrogression  for  the 
Erance  of  1789,  and  Francia  was  a  progression  for  the  Paraguay  of 
181 1.  The  advantage  is  on  his  side;  since  it  w'as  not  a  question  of 
a  civilized  and  clever  nation,  nourished  by  the  brains  of  great 
geniuses  and  full  of  enthusiasm  and  heroism,  but  of  a  heterogeneous, 
degraded,  brutalized,  and  ignorant  people  accustomed  for  the  most 
part  to  the  discipline  of  the  Jesuits,  and  apparently  ill  fitted  to  do 
without  a  master.  The  Napoleonic  tragi-comedy  was  acted  on  a 
mucli  larger  theater,  and  as  there  w'as  no  lack  of  hired  applause 
around  the  Francia  of  the  Tuileries,  the  multitude  did  not  perceive 
his  insane  pride,  his  violence  or  his  ridiculousness,  and  knew  nothing 
of  his  proscriptions,  and  almost  nothing  of  his  judicial  murders. 
Tlie  fits  of  hypochondria  of  the  American  dictator  cost  a  few  tears; 
those  of  the  Corsican  emperor  cost  rivers  of  blood  and  ruined  the 
I'rench  nation.  Therefore  the  comparison  does  not  seem  to  us 
quite  exact ;  tyrant  for  tyrant,  the  first  is  the  better. 

When  it  was  found  that  Francia  was  really  dead,  the  half-breed 
Patinos  quietly  summoned  the  chief  commanders  of  the  barracks. 
The  event  was  kept  secret  for  some  hours,  which  they  employed  in 
making  some  arrests  and  doubling  the  guard  of  the  public  prison, 
where  700  prisoners  were  confined  in  narrow  cells.  But  Patinos 
w.'is  not  to  survive  his  master;  he  was  suspected  of  aspiring  to  the 
succession,  v.as  arrested  by  order  of  the  very  junta  that  he  headed 


PARAGUAY  155 

1840-1862 

under  the  modest  title  of  secretar>%  and  to  avoid  the  punishment  tliat 
was  awaiting  liim  he  hanged  himself  in  prison.  Juan  Jose  ^Medina 
attempted  to  seize  power  with  the  help  of  some  citizens,  but  this 
usurped  authority  was  not  recognized  by  the  troops.  A  congress, 
convoked  on  May  12,  1841,  conferred  the  executive  power  for  three 
years  on  two  consuls,  Carlos  Antonio  Lopez,  the  nephew  of  Francia, 
and  Mariano  Roque  Alonzo. 

The  new  government  hastened  to  conclude  a  treaty  of  com- 
merce and  alliance  with  the  province  of  Corrientes,  which  was 
then  at  war  with  Buenos  Ayres,  and  decreed  the  gradual  abolition 
of  slavery.  In  March,  1844,  Lopez  received  from  Congress  the 
title  of  President  of  the  republic  for  ten  years,  and  inherited  the 
absolute  power  of  his  uncle.  Like  him,  Lopez  showed  himself  very 
jealous  of  his  authority;  but  he  was  resolved  to  terminate  the  isola- 
tion in  which  hitherto  Paraguay  had  been  held,  and  all  his  efforts 
tended  to  stimulate  commercial  interests  and  to  establish  relations 
with  foreign  nations.  In  1857  he  signed  treaties  of  friendship,  com- 
merce, and  navigation  with  France,  England,  Sardinia,  and  the 
United  States,  and  during  his  government  foreign  vessels  were  able 
to  reach  Asuncion.  In  1861  an  important  step  in  the  progress  of  the 
country  was  taken.  Before  the  astonished  multitude  a  railway  from 
the  capital  to  Villa  Rica,  the  most  important  center  of  agricultural 
production,  was  opened.  Lopez  decreed  the  dissolution  of  the  mis- 
sions of  Paraguay,  always  under  the  communistic  organization,  and 
brought  the  Indians  under  the  common  law,  giving  them  the  status 
of  citizens  (1848).  He  continued  to  organize  the  country  with 
activity,  formed  a  public  treasury,  established  schools  of  primary 
instruction,  an  iron  foundry  at  Ibicuy,  and  a  military^  and  naval 
arsenal  at  Asuncion.  Sometimes  he  had  petty  disputes  with  Eng- 
land, the  United  States,  and  Brazil ;  but  he  was  able  to  oppose  and 
to  overcome  with  great  ability  the  difficulties  that  arose,  and  to  repel 
energetically  the  aggressions  of  the  neighboring  states  and  the  pre- 
tensions of  Rosas,  who  persisted  in  considering  Paraguay  a  mere 
dependency  of  the  Argentine  Republic.  At  last  he  was  accepted  as 
arbitrator  or  mediator  in  the  war  between  the  Argentine  provinces 
and  Buenos  Ayres.  Early  in  1854  the  National  Congress,  after 
examining  and  approving  the  acts  of  the  presidential  administration, 
reelected  Lopez  for  another  ten  years,  and  he,  using  a  right  that  the 
constitution  gave  him,  appointed  his  son,  the  Brigadier  D.  Francisco 
Solano  Lopez,  to  the  vice-presidency  of  the  republic,  on  September 


156  SOUTH    AMERICA 

^  ^"  1862-1864 

lo,  1862,  before  his  term  expired.  The  retired  and  solitary  life  that 
he  led  destroyed  his  health,  and  he  died  when  he  was  about  to  com- 
jjlete  his  sixtieth  year. 

Solano  Lopez,  who  was  then  thirty-five  years  old,  had  com- 
pleted his  studies  in  Europe,  and  had  in  his  early  years  visited 
I'rance.  His  father  had  introduced  him  when  very  young  into  pub- 
lic affairs  and  appointed  him  Minister  of  War  and  Marine.  The 
Congress  assembled  October  26,  1862,  and  ratified  the  choice  of  the 
dead  president.  The  son  was  even  more  free  than  his  father  from 
the  narrow  traditions  of  Francia,  and  thus  from  his  accession  to 
power  he  supported  the  progressive  movement  of  Paraguay,  which 
liad  for  so  long  been  ignorant  of  or  hostile  to  all  the  benefits  of  civil- 
ization. Through  his  energy  the  cultivation  of  cotton  was  much 
extended  during  the  civil  war  in  the  United  States,  and  he  exempted 
from  all  import  duties  all  machines  and  tools  destined  for  agricul- 
ture and  industry.  The  treasury  advanced  to  natives  and  foreigners 
considerable  sums  for  enterprises  of  general  utility.  We  should  also 
mention  that  a  number  of  young  men  were  periodically  sent  to 
Europe  to  complete  their  education  in  the  old  world.  In  June,  1863, 
on  the  return  of  some  of  these  young  men  who  could  be  immediately 
employed,  the  government  conceived  the  idea  of  choosing  thirty 
more  students  from  the  colleges  of  the  republic  and  sending  them 
to  rVance,  where  they  would  perfect  themselves  for  the  professions 
of  the  magistracy,  the  army,  the  administration,  industry,  and 
commerce.  In  spite  of  a  few  despotic  practices  that  the  President 
Solano  Lopez  had  inherited  from  his  predecessors,  and  which  he  did 
not  appear  much  inclined  to  give  up,  the  Republic  of  Paraguay  saw 
a  hitherto  unknown  era  of  prosperity  opening  before  her. 

Then  it  was  that  the  terrible  war  broke  out  between  this 
country  and  three  allied  neighbors,  Brazil,  the  Argentine  Republic, 
and  Uruguay,  during  which  the  president  and  people  of  Paraguay 
gave  proofs  of  their  indomitable  energy.  The  obscure  and  unde- 
cided question  of  the  frontiers  had  made  the  relations  between 
Paraguay  and  the  neighboring  states  difficult  for  some  time  past. 
1  he  cause  (jf  the  constant  hostility  always  existing  between  the 
republics  of  this  region  was  the  desire  to  control  the  navigation  of 
the  Rio  de  la  Plata  and  its  tributaries,  and,  above  all,  the  idea  that 
was  constantly  being  revived  of  uniting  in  one  nationality  the  differ- 
ent peoples  in  the  great  river  basin  of  which  the  Rio  de  la  Plata  is 
?'!o  vast  outlet.     This  idea  was  not  unconnected  with  the  disturb- 


PARAGUAY  157 

1864-1865 

aiices  in  Uruguay  and  the  Argentine  Republic  at  that  time.  This 
placed  Paraguay  in  a  strained  situation,  and  Lopez  thought  it  pru- 
dent to  put  his  country  in  a  state  of  defense.  This  was  clearly 
within  his  rights,  but  he  went  further.  After  securing  the  adhesion 
of  the  notables  of  Asuncion,  Lopez  did  not  hesitate  to  take  the  offen- 
sive. On  November  ii,  1864,  he  seized  a  Brazilian  packetboat,  with 
the  Brazilian  governor  of  A'latto  Grosso  on  board ;  on  December  1 5 
an  army  corps  of  10,000  men  invaded  that  province,  and  on  January 
I  took  the  fortified  towns  of  Albuquerque,  Corumba,  and  Dourado, 
and  marched  on  Cuyabas.  On  the  other  hand,  small  skirmishes  took 
place  with  the  Argentine  patrols,  since  Lopez  wished  to  use  force 
in  his  dealings  with  Buenos  Ayres  as  he  had  with  Rio  Janeiro. 
The  Congress,  which  met  in  Asuncion,  approved  his  policy  by  ac- 
clamation on  May  5,  1865,  invested  him  with  the  title  of  marshal, 
and  empowered  him  to  raise  a  loan  of  $24,800,000  and  issue 
paper  money.  Lopez  had  every  reason  to  act  quickly  and  give  his 
adversaries  no  time  to  organize.  On  August  14  four  Paraguayan 
vessels  entered  the  harbor  of  Corrientes  and  seized  two  Argentine 
ships,  while  2000  men  took  possession  of  the  city  and  set  up  a 
Federal  administration  instead  of  the  Unitarian  regime.  Lopez 
thought  he  could  thus  take  advantage  of  the  rivalries  of  the  parties. 
Until  now  the  contest  was  only  wnth  Brazil  and  the  Argentine  Re- 
public. The  Banda  Oriental  united  with  these  adversaries  after 
the  victory  of  Flores  at  Aguirre.  The  three  nations  signed  a  treaty 
of  alliance  at  Buenos  Ayres  on  May  6,  which,  by  the  way,  did  not 
receive  the  sympathy  of  the  other  American  republics,  by  which  they 
undertook  to  carry  on  the  war  against  Lopez  alone,  whom  they 
called  a  tyrant,  and  set  themselves  the  task  of  liberating  a  sister 
people  groaning  under  a  cruel  despotism.  On  June  1 1  the  Brazilian 
squadron  and  the  Paraguayan  flotilla  met,  and  after  a  sanguinary 
fight,  which  gave  an  opportunity  for  the  Paraguayans  to  give  proofs 
of  their  courage,  the  advantage  rested  with  the  Brazilians.  By  way 
of  compensation,  the  Paraguayan  division  operating  against  Uru- 
guay entered  the  province  of  Rio  Grande  on  the  same  day  and 
occupied  important  positions.  One  part  of  this  division  was  after- 
ward overwhelmed  by  numbers,  and  was  defeated  by  Flores.  The 
other  part,  numbering  6000  men,  was  besieged  in  Uruguayana  and 
surrendered  to  the  allies  without  firing  a  shot,  through  the  treason 
of  Colonel  Estigarribia,  as  is  supposed. 

Before  this  double  reverse,  which  completely  destroyed  one  of 


158  SOUTH     xVMERICA 

1865-1866 

his  army  corps,  Lopez,  fearing  that  demoralization  would  spread 
among  his  troops,  fell  back  by  a  very  able  retreat  upon  the  ter- 
ritory of  the  republic.  He  fortified  himself  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  Parana,  collected  provisions  there,  took  the  town  of  Itapua  for 
his  base  of  operations,  and  immediately  established  reserve  depots 
in  Humaita  and  Asuncion.  Then  he  waited  for  the  allied  army, 
which  was  not  afraid  to  force  into  its  ranks  the  prisoners  taken  from 
the  enemy.  During  a  whole  year  Lopez  fought  the  Brazilian  gen- 
eral, Porto-Alegre,  and  was  generally  successful.  His  troops,  led 
on  by  ardent  patriotism  and  excited  to  fanaticism  by  religious  ex- 
hortations, offered  themselves  for  slaughter  with  blind  bravery. 
He  took  the  greatest  care  of  them,  calling  into  his  serv'ice  English 
and  American  surgeons.  He  was  obliged  to  retreat  before  superior 
numbers,  and  had  to  abandon  his  camp  at  Stapira,  with  the  batteries 
ihat  he  had  placed  near  the  Parana,  and  on  April  23,  1866,  to  take 
u\)  a  position  under  the  protection  of  the  fort  of  Humaita.  Here  he 
waited  and  defeated  the  Argentines  commanded  by  Mitre,  who  had 
unfortunately  been  tempted  to  take  part  in  the  fratricidal  struggle. 
The  defeat  was  a  heavy  blow  to  the  assailants,  and  led  to  some 
attempts  at  negotiation  which  had  no  success,  notwithstanding  the 
efforts  of  Chili  to  promote  them. 

Although  the  exhaustion  of  Argentina  and  Uruguay  was  very 
great,  the  war  began  again  with  new  butchery,  and  became  more 
painful  and  cruel  through  the  terrible  epidemic  of  cholera  which 
spread  in  both  camps.  At  the  end  of  1867  Lopez  was  able  to 
reestablish  his  communications  between  Asuncion  and  Humaita, 
where  the  batteries  sank  some  Brazilian  vessels  of  war  which  at- 
tempted to  force  the  passage.  At  that  period  the  war  was  carried 
on  by  skirmishes,  almost  always  adverse  to  the  enemy,  in  which  a 
young  Englishwoman,  named  Eliza  Lynch,  took  a  very  active  part, 
at  the  head  of  some  battalions  of  Amazons.  She  had  ardently 
taken  up  the  cause  of  the  president,  of  whom  she  was  violently 
enamored.  A  Brazilian  army  corps  crossed  the  frontier  of  the 
province  of  Matto  Grosso  to  invade  Paraguay  from  the  north- 
east, but  was  repulsed  and  closely  pursued.  The  retreat  was 
made  under  such  difficulties  that  it  took  thirty-five  days  to  cover 
a  distance  of   100  miles.^     Li  the  middle  of   1868  another  Bra- 

1  Tlic  story  of  this  tragic  episode  has  been  told  by  one  of  the  officers  of  the 
'  xpedition  The  "  Rctraitc  de  Laguna,"  by  Alfred  d'Escragnolle  Taunay.  Rio 
Janeiro,  1871. 


PARAGUAY  159 

1866-1870 

zilian  fleet  succeeded  in  breaking  through  the  obstructions  and 
ascending  to  Humaita,  yet  was  detained  there  until  the  alhes,  rein- 
forced by  numerous  contingents,  had  obliged  Lopez  to  abandon 
the  formidably  entrenched  camp  of  Humaita  and  retire  to  Tebicuari 
and  Timbo  (July  25).  Lopez  had  to  recruit  his  army,  which  was 
exhausted  by  so  many  sanguinary  combats,  but  he  was  soon  able  to 
take  the  offensive  again.  By  a  bold  march  he  advanced  25  miles 
south  of  Asuncion,  and  established  himself  at  Villeta.  Overcome 
once  more  by  numbers  he  retired  behind  the  trenches  of  Angostura, 
whence  he  was  dislodged  after  six  days'  sanguinary  struggle,  on 
December  27,  leaving  in  the  hands  of  the  allies  six  pieces  of  artillery 
and  1000  prisoners.  By  this  blow  the  capital  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy. 

Lopez  seemed  lost,  and  was  reported  to  have  fled  to  the  United 
States,  but  the  indomitable  marshal,  far  from  being  beaten,  had  no 
other  thought  than  taking  his  revenge.  Rallying  the  wreck  of  his 
army,  he  called  for  new  contingents  and  established  himself  in 
Piribebuy,  which  he  made  his  provisional  capital.  The  allies,  on 
their  part,  thinking  they  had  obtained  a  decisive  victory,  began  to 
be  divided,  disputes  between  the  generals  arising  every  day.  As 
soon  as  the  Emperor  of  Brazil  knew  that  Lopez  had  begun  the  cam- 
paign again,  he  sent  fresh  troops  (1869),  and  put  his  son-in-law, 
the  young  Comte  d'Eu,  grandson  of  Louis  Philippe,  at  the  head  of 
the  allied  armies.  The  Comte  d'Eu  marched  against  Lopez,  who 
had  fixed  his  headquarters  in  Ascurra,  and  after  seizing  the  railway 
from  Asuncion  to  Villa  Rica,  offered  him  battle  on  August  12,  1869, 
pursued  him,  and  in  the  following  month  crushed  him  almost  com- 
pletely near  Caraguatay. 

A  provisional  government,  composed  of  Loizaga,  Rivarola, 
and  Diaz  de  Bedoya,  was  set  up  in  Asuncion  on  the  15th  by  the 
allies.  At  the  same  time  a  decree  of  the  Brazilian  government  out- 
lawed the  hero,  who  thus,  step  by  step,  disputed  his  country  with 
the  enemy,  and  all  who  fought  under  his  command.  That  iniquitous 
measure,  which  could  have  no  other  foundation  than  the  savage 
Prussian  axiom,  "  Might  makes  right,"  did  not  check  Lopez,  who 
was  firmly  resolved  to  defend  the  integrity  of  the  Paraguayan  ter- 
ritory to  the  last.  Having  only  a  small  force  of  infantry  and  cavalry 
and  some  thirty  small  field  pieces,  he  marched  to  San  Isidoro,  at  the 
foot  of  the  Cordilleras  of  Coaguaru,  and  entrenched  himself  there. 
He  was  dislodged  from  this  last  position  and  pursued  to  the  moun- 


160  SOUTH    AMERICA 

1870-1871 

tains  of  the  northwest  by  General  Camera,  where  he  procured  the 
help  of  5000  Indians,  but  it  was  in  vain.  Surrounded  on  all  sides, 
he  did  not  hesitate  to  make  a  desperate  attempt  to  cut  his  way  out, 
and  the  small  Paraguayan  army  sustained  its  last  attack,  ^lay  i, 
1870,  on  the  banks  of  the  Aquidaban,  where  it  was  completely  de- 
stroyed. Among  the  slain  were  President  Lopez  and  Vice-President 
Sanchez,  who  had  fallen  in  the  vanguard.  Thus  ended  the  gigantic 
struggle  of  this  small  and  intrepid  people.  It  had  lasted  five  years, 
and  in  it  Loi)cz  displayed  the  energy,  tenacity  and  strength  of  mind 
of  a  patriot  and  a  hero.  He  was  brave,  intelligent,  of  humane  senti- 
ments, and  earnestly  devoted  to  the  future  w'elfare  of  his  country, 
which  a  war,  as  savage  as  it  was  useless,  had  ruined  and  depopulated. 

Paraguay  was  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the  allies  and  completely 
devastated.  Its  population,  which  in  1857  was  reckoned  at  about 
1.337,000.  was  reduced  by  war,  executions,  epidemics  and  famine 
to  about  a  sixth  of  that  number,  and  these  were  for  the  most  part 
women  and  children.  Its  income  had  fallen  from  $2,600,000  to 
$400,000,  and  the  instruments  and  objects  of  productive  industry 
were  everywhere  destroyed;  the  railway  had  no  rolling  stock, 
workshops,  nor  stations;  the  public  edifices  were  falling  into  ruins; 
provisions  were  scarce,  and  seed  lacking.  The  wreck  was  so  com- 
plete that  even  the  government  could  not  find  the  titles  to  its  prop- 
erty.   The  very  foundations  of  the  nation  had  to  be  laid  anew. 

A  preliminary  treaty  of  peace  between  Brazil  and  the  Argentine 
Republic,  on  the  one  part,  and  the  provisional  goverment  of  Para- 
guay on  the  other,  was  signed  on  June  20.  On  November  25  a  Con- 
gress, elected  by  universal  suffrage,  proclaimed  a  constitution, 
modeled  on  that  of  the  United  States.  A  president,  elected  for  three 
years,  a  vice-president,  a  Cabinet,  composed  of  five  ministers,  a 
Senate,  and  a  Ciiaiuber  of  Deputies  were  entrusted  with  the  powers 
of  tlie  state.  Some  judicial  and  administrative  reforms  were  made, 
the  st.'uiding  army  was  abolished,  foreigners  were  admitted  to  all 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  natives,  including  the  right  to  hold 
office,  except  the  high  political  and  administrative  posts. 

At  the  beginning  of  August  Cirilo  Antonio  Rivarola  was  made 
proulent.  Grave  dissensions  arose  between  him  and  the  Congress. 
At  the  end  of  187 1  he  decreed  the  dissolution  of  the  Assembly,  which 
rcsumcfl  its  sessions  outside  the  walls  of  Asuncion.  The  president 
called  on  the  Brazilian  and  Argentine  garrison  for  help;  but  the 
plenipotentiaries  considered  all  foreign  intervention  as  contrary  to 


PARAGUAY  irjl 

1871-1896 

the  constitution  and  an  attack  on  tlie  national  independence  and 
disunity.  Ivivarola  resic^ned  his  authority,  and  the  vice-president, 
Salvador  Jovellanos,  was  raised  to  the  presidency  of  the  rcijublic 
for  a  term  of  three  years  (December  12,  1871).  Juan  JJautista  Gil 
succeeded  him  on  October  11,  1874,  after  a  lon^^  service  as  finance 
minister,  during  which  he  had  spared  no  effort  to  reestablish  the 
national  credit. 

Paraguay  has  not  yet  fully  recovered  from  its  terrible  disasters. 
According  to  the  definitive  treaty  of  peace  made  in  January,  1872, 
with  Brazil,  the  frontier  between  the  two  countries  is  formed  by  the 
course  of  the  Parana  from  the  mouth  of  the  Iguazu  to  the  cataract 
of  Seven  Cascades ;  thence  it  follows  the  line  of  the  watershed  along 
the  sierras  of  Maracayu  and  Amambay,  thence  to  the  Paraguay 
River,  following  the  course  of  the  Apa.  The  treaty  establishes 
free  navigation  under  all  flags  on  the  rivers  Parana,  Paraguay, 
Uruguay  and  all  their  affluents.  Other  special  treaties  have  settled 
the  rules  for  the  extradition  of  non-political  criminals,  the  advan- 
tages given  to  the  subjects  of  the  allied  countries,  and  free  commerce 
between  Paraguay  and  the  Brazilian  province  of  ]\Iatto  Grosso. 
Paraguay  promised  to  pay  a  war  indemnity  of  $200,000,000 
to  Brazil,  $35,000,000  to  the  Argentine  Republic,  and  $1,000,000  to 
Uruguay.  In  return  Brazil  undertook  to  protect  the  government 
of  Asuncion  from  all  aggression,  whether  native  or  foreign,  and  for 
this  reason  it  was  stipulated  that  the  Brazilian  troops  should  con- 
tinue to  occupy  the  territory  of  the  republic  for  ten  years. 


Chapter  XI 

THE    EMPIRE    OF    BRAZIL.    1808-1876 

BR.VZIL  was  until  recently  organized  as  an  empire,  and  also 
differs  very  much  from  the  old  Spanish  colonies  in  man- 
ners, customs,  and  language.  It  resembles  them  closely  in 
its  economic  problems,  and  there  is  the  same  disproportion  between 
man's  labor  and  the  astonishing  fertility  of  the  soil.  Although 
Brazil  had  the  advantage  of  many  of  the  republics  in  an  established, 
determined,  and  settled  political  system,  the  Lusitanian  empire 
nevertheless  had  its  periods  of  popular  excitement,  crisis,  and  con- 
flict. But  the  shocks  which  affected  its  internal  and  external  life, 
though  sometimes  grave,  were  always  within  well-defined  limits, 
and  party  strife  went  no  further  than  to  change  a  ministry. 

Brazil  is  one  of  the  largest  of  all  nations,  and  occupies  half  of 
S(;uth  America.  France  has  but  one-eighth  of  its  area,  and  three 
times  its  population.  Admirably  diversified  in  its  natural  resources, 
it  is  in  the  best  situation  for  taking  part  in  the  intellectual  and 
commercial  affairs  of  the  world.  Thus  the  Atlantic  coast  line  is 
5300  miles  in  length,  and  there  is  a  large  number  of  islands,  some 
of  considerable  extent  and  fertility,  and  others  notable  for  their 
Ideographic  and  political  importance.  Each  of  the  harbors  of  Bahia, 
Angra  dos  Reis,  and  Rio  Janeiro  are  capacious  enough  to  shelter 
all  the  navies  of  the  world.  Its  boundaries  are:  on  the  north 
iMcnch,  English,  and  Dutch  Guiana,  the  Republic  of  Venezuela,  and 
the  United  States  of  Colombia ;  on  the  south  Uruguay,  Paraguay, 
and  the  Argentine  Republic ;  on  the  west,  the  same  republic,  Para- 
guay, Bolivia,  Peru,  and  Ecuador. 

So  vast  an  extent  of  territory  cannot  present  a  uniformity  of 
climate.  It  is  strewn  with  lakes;  furrowed  by  innumerable  streams 
and  gigantic  rivers,  among  them  the  largest  and  deepest  on  the 
globe,  the  wonderful  Amazon,  which  runs  for  more  than  1625  miles 
through  Brazilian  territory  and  with  its  tributaries  is  navigable  for 
a  total  length  of  18.750  miles;  and  bristles  with  mountains,  some 
of  which  reach  a  considerable  height.      Brazil  is  essentially  a  hot 

162 


BRAZIL  103 

1808 

country,  but  though  the  heat  of  the  sun  is  great  on  the  equator  at 
Para,  it  is  much  less  in  the  central  districts,  and  on  the  coast  it  is 
moderated  by  regular  breezes,  until  as  one  goes  southward  the  cli- 
mate becomes  mild  and  healthful,  especially  on  the  great  plains  of 
the  Rio  Grande,  which  are  said  to  be  among  the  best  regions  of  the 
globe,  and  are  the  Italy  of  the  western  hemisphere.  This,  at  least, 
is  the  opinion  of  the  French  physician,  M.  Segaud.  author  of 
''Du  Climat  et  des  Maladcs  du  Brcsil."  Although  Brazil  about 
1873  passed  through  one  of  those  terrible  epidemics  of  yellow 
fever  which  are  due  in  part  to  the  bad  conditions  in  which  the  South 
Americans  live,  statistics  proved  that  in  the  most  populous  cities,  in- 
cluding Rio  Janeiro,  the  mortality  was  lower  than  in  the  most  sani- 
tary capitals  of  Europe.* 

All  travelers  who  have  visited  the  country  have  exhausted  the 
resources  of  imagery  in  trying  to  describe  its  magnificence,  and 
the  splendor  of  its  forests  is  beyond  description.  Its  mineral  re- 
sources are  equally  rich,  and  it  has  given  to  Europe  vast  quantities 
of  the  precious  metals.  But,  as  in  all  other  parts  of  South  Amer- 
ica, laborers  and  the  spirit  of  enterprise  are  lacking.  Under  the 
empire  Brazilian  society,  as  a  daughter  of  the  conquest,  was  founded 
upon  slavery.^  The  whites  drove  the  Indians  into  the  forests  and 
held  the  negroes  bowed  under  the  lash.  The  great  principle  of  far 
niente,^  brought  to  the  country  by  the  first  settlers,  is  so  well  suited 
to  the  mildness  of  the  climate,  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  to  the 
indolent  and  sensual  nature  of  their  descendants  that  it  has  become 
the  supreme  law  of  their  being.  Fortunately,  for  some  years  past, 
the  Old  World  has  been  sending  laborers  to  this  rich  and  little- 
known  land,  who,  as  colonists,  will  be  the  principal  agents  of  the 
prosperity  of  the  country.  Many  thousand  Europeans  arrive  annu- 
ally in  Brazil,  settling  in  the  country  and  the  towns.  In  the  absence 
of  white  w^omen  they  form  unions  w-ith  Indian  and  negro  women, 
and  beget  children  able  to  bear  the  fierce  heat  of  the  tropics.  It 
is  only  by  a  continual  infusion  of  European  blood,  by  the  rehabilita- 
tion of  labor,  perfecting  itself  in  ideas  and  habits,  and  by  the  vivify- 
ing action  of  raihvays  on  the  countries  through  which  they  pass,  that 
civilization  w-ill  prosecute  her  conquests  and  take  possession  of  those 
immense  spaces,  solely  given  up  to  the  forces  of  Nature.    It  should 

1  Macedo,  "  Nations  de  chorographie  du  Bresil." 

2  Slavery  was  abolished  in  Brazil  in  1888. 

^  Dolce  far  niente.    It  is  sweet  to  do  nothing. 


lf}4<  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1808-1820 

he  said  tliat  the  contempt  that  the  colored  man  has  for  every  kind 
of  work  is  not  the  result  of  the  climate  alone ;  its  origin  is  chiefly  the 
helief,  very  common  in  countries  where  slavery  exists,  that  work  is 
dishonorable. 

In  the  first  part  of  this  work  we  have  seen  how  the  court  of 
Portugal,  flying  from  the  French  army  in  1808,  came  to  seek  an 
asylum  in  its  opulent  colony  of  the  New  World.  The  presence 
of  John  \T.  on  Brazilian  soil,  until  then  subject  to  the  utmost  rigor 
of  the  colonial  system,  resulted  in  breaking  down  the  barriers  that 
kept  all  the  ports  closed  to  foreign  nations.  Brazil  ceased  to  be  a 
colony,  and  seven  years  later,  by  the  decree  of  December  17,  181 5, 
it  became  a  kingdom.  Ideas  which  moved  Europe  could  now  be 
brought  to  Brazil  freely  and  wdthout  concealment.  This  was  evident 
when  the  revolution  of  Pernambuco  broke  out  in  181 7,  the  first  step 
t()ward  national  independence.  A  learned  priest,  Juan  Ribeiro,  in- 
spired by  the  writing  of  Condorcet,  and,  in  his  own  words,  "  breath- 
ing only  for  liberty,"  was  the  president  of  a  provisional  government. 
In  order  to  set  an  example  of  endurance  he  had  followed  the  insur- 
rectionary army  commanded  by  the  merchant  Domingo  Jose  Mar- 
tins with  bare  feet  and  legs.  This  experimental  republic  lasted  only 
two  months  and  a  half,  and  Ribeiro,  like  his  master,  Condorcet, 
committed  suicide.  The  Royalists  carried  his  head  on  a  pike  through 
the  streets  of  Pernambuco.  The  other  leaders  suffered  the  extreme 
penalty  of  the  law;  and  a  cruel  and  implacable  policy  of  repression 
was  carried  out  by  the  Count  of  Arcos. 

Nevertheless,  the  fact  remained  that  the  rights  of  the  country 
had  been  discussed.  The  sojourn  of  John  VI.  in  Brazil  was  con- 
stantly disturbed  by  insurrectionary  movements,  caused  by  the  in- 
crease of  taxation,  the  wretched  administration  of  justice,  the  costly 
luxuries  exacted  by  the  sovereign,  and  his  partiality  for  the  Portu- 
guese, whom  he  offensively  enriched  with  fat  offices.  The  enmity 
between  J3razilians  and  Portuguese  was  constantly  breaking  out, 
and  It  was  in  vain  that  John  VI.  was  proclaimed  on  February  5, 
1818.  King  of  Portugal.  Brazil,  and  Algar\^e;  the  causes  of  the  quar- 
rel continued.  Besides,  important  events  had  taken  place  in  Europe. 
f  lie  I'urtuguese  nation,  impoverished  and  oppressed  to  satisfy  the 
luxury  of  Rio  Janeiro,  tired  of  seeing  that  it  had  in  a  sense  become 
the  colony  and  Brazil  the  mother  country,  that  its  wealth  was  poured 
out  to  be  spent  in  America,  and  that  America  gave  nothing  in  ex- 
ciiange.  demanded  the  return  of  the  court  to  Lisbon.    This  demand 


BRAZIL  165 

1820-1821 

was  the  cause  of  the  loss  of  Brazil.  When  the  revolution  broke  out 
at  Oporto,  in  1820,  the  object  of  which  was  to  give  a  constitutional 
government  to  Portugal,  Pernambuco  became  again  disturbed. 
Bahia  and  the  province  of  Para  proclaimed  the  constitution  promul- 
gated by  the  Cortes,  while  the  court  of  Rio  Janeiro  was  dreaming 
of  sending  an  Anglo-Brazilian  expedition  against  Portugal.  The 
weak  and  melancholy  John  was  placed  between  his  wife,  the  ugly 
and  ambitious  Charlotte,  who  was  the  soul  of  the  Absolutist  party 
and  had  a  special  court  which  formed  a  center  of  opposition  to  the 
government  of  her  husband,  and  his  eldest  son,  Dom  Pedro.  The 
latter  advised  John  to  make  some  concessions,  and  John  had  at  last 
the  good  fortune  to  follow  the  prince's  advice  to  calm  the  popular 
excitement.  By  a  formal  decree  he  accepted  the  bases  of  the  future 
constitution,  a  decree  which  was  read  by  Dom  Pedro  himself  to  the 
multitude  assembled  in  the  theater  of  San  Juan.  Then,  tired  of  a 
country  which  he  had  never  liked,  the  unhappy  monarch  embarked 
April  26,  1821,  for  Portugal,  leaving  the  regency  of  Brazil  in  the 
hands  of  the  hereditary  prince,  the  young  Pedro,  who  then  was 
scarcely  twenty-two  years  old.  His  departure  took  place  just  after 
a  catastrophe.  Five  days  before  the  electors  assembled  in  the  Ex- 
change of  Rio  Janeiro  to  choose  their  deputies  to  the  Portuguese 
Cortes  had  manifested  a  desire  to  oppose  the  departure  of  the  sov- 
ereign, or  at  least  that  he  should  make  a  formal  promise  that  Brazil 
should  always  be  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  mother  country. 
They  were  suddenly  attacked  and  shot  down  at  close  range  by  the 
auxiliary  division,  which  completed  its  foul  work  by  general  pillage. 
Thirty  victims  died  on  the  spot. 

During  the  stay  of  John  VI.  in  Brazil  some  successful  attempts 
were  made  in  colonization,  the  civilization  of  the  savage  tribes,  and 
the  exploration  of  the  great  rivers  and  the  discoveiy  of  mines. 
Agriculture  and  manufacturing  industry  were  encouraged ;  a  school 
for  teaching  mathematics  and  military  science,  a  hospital,  and 
schools  of  anatomy,  surgery  and  medicine  were  founded.  A  colony 
of  French  artists,  chief  among  them  Lebreton,  Debret,  and  Taunay, 
and  some  Italian  musicians  were  invited  to  Brazil.  This  w-as  the 
impulse  to  a  school  of  fine  arts,  a  great  number  of  notable  edifices, 
and  a  theater. 

The  blind  and  stupid  Portuguese  Cortes  reestablished  the 
colonial  system  for  Brazil,  and,  relying  on  the  garrisons  of  the  cities, 
sent  out  impolitic  and  irritating  decrees,  and  soon  commanded  the 


166  SOUTH    AMERICA 

1821-1823 

prince  regent  to  return  to  Europe.  Dom  Pedro  declared  on  January 
9,  1822,  that  he  would  remain  in  Brazil.  Rio  Janeiro,  Pernambuco, 
San  Paulo,  and  Bahia  took  up  arms  and  drove  out  the  Portuguese 
garrisons.  The  regent,  with  a  match  in  one  hand  and  leaning  on 
a  gun  carriage  with  the  other,  announced  that  he  would  fire  the  first 
shot  against  the  intrenchments  of  the  auxiliary  division  if  it  did 
not  immediately  embark ;  he  went  in  person  to  put  down  a  Royalist 
insurrection  in  Minas  Geraes.  At  Rio,  during  his  absence,  the 
party  of  the  past  attempted  a  counter  revolution,  and  his  return  was 
greeted  by  enthusiastic  acclaim.  On  May  13  he  received  from  the 
representatives  of  the  provinces  the  title  of  "  Perpetual  Defender  of 
Brazil,"  and  on  October  12  the  National  Assembly  acclaimed 
him  "  Constitutional  Emperor."  A  decree  of  August  i  had  com- 
pleted the  rupture  of  every  colonial  bond  between  Brazil  and  the 
Portuguese  nation. 

The  young  prince  was  impatient  to  bear  the  scepter,  and  accepted 
all  the  consequences  of  a  revolution  so  consonant  with  his  ambitions. 
On  taking  leave  of  him,  his  father  had  said :  "  Preserve  Brazil  to 
the  Portuguese  crown  as  long  as  possible,  and  then  take  it  for  your- 
self." This  advice  was  too  much  in  accord  with  the  opinions  of 
Pedro  for  him  to  neglect  it  by  failing  to  profit  by  the  blunders  of  the 
Lisbon  government,  blunders  which  directly  increased  his  popular- 
ity. He  wrote  to  his  father  that  his  motive  in  becoming  constitu- 
tional emperor  was  to  preserve  Brazil  for  the  House  of  Braganza. 
Whatever  may  be  said  as  to  his  sincerity  it  is  certain  that  Brazil, 
which  was  very  hostile  to  the  Portuguese  domination,  would  have 
become  a  federal  republic  if  it  had  not  become  an  independent 
monarchy.  In  one  way  or  the  other  it  was  destined  to  break  the 
yoke.  England  had  her  hand  in  the  business.  Lord  Cochrane  re- 
ceived the  command  of  the  imperial  fleet,  and  the  court  of  St.  James, 
by  its  ambassador,  persuaded  John  to  accept  the  facts  with  resigna- 
tion, representing  that  after  his  death  Brazil  would  naturally  become 
once  more  a  part  of  the  Portuguese  monarchy,  and  Pedro  did  not, 
as  is  generally  believed,  renounce  his  claims  to  the  Portuguese  throne 
on  ascending  that  of  Brazil.  But  the  son  of  John  VL  was  not  the 
man  that  the  circumstances  required  to  found  an  empire.  He  was 
by  education  completely  possessed  by  all  the  prejudices  of  the  old 
courts  of  Europe,  gay,  impetuous,  the  slave  of  his  impressions, 
without  firmness  of  purpose,  very  often  undecided  in  his  resolutions, 
and  wholly  unfit  for  the  part  of  a  constitutional  king.     At  first,  to 


BRAZIL  167 

1823-1825 

gain  the  good  will  of  the  people,  he  sliowed  himself  disposed  to  ac- 
cept free  institutions,  and  went  so  far  as  to  have  himself  proclaimed 
Grand  Master  of  the  Freemasons;  but  as  soon  as  he  felt  himself 
securely  in  power  he  returned  to  his  absolutist  ideas,  ordered  the 
masonic  lodges  to  be  closed,  surrounded  himself  with  favorites,  and 
compromised  his  reign  forever  by  his  decree  for  the  dissolution  of 
the  first  constituent  assembly  (November,  1823).  The  constitution 
which  he  promulgated  (March,  1827)  and  which  he  himself  drew 
up,  could  not,  in  spite  of  its  liberalism,  overcome  the  resentment  of 
the  nation. 

Pernambuco  and  Para  resisted,  appealing  to  the  unrecognized 
sovereignty  of  the  people.  Pernambuco  declared  itself  a  repub- 
lic, inducing  the  provinces  of  the  north  to  join  and  form  the  Con- 
federation of  the  Equator ;  and  Parahyba,  Ceara,  and  Rio  Grande  do 
Norte  obeyed  the  call.  This  attempt  was  repressed  with  savage 
energy  by  a  reign  of  terror  and  the  infliction  of  barbarous  punish- 
ments. Discontent  became  general  and  was  aggravated  by  the  rising 
of  the  Cisplatine  province,  which  demanded  independence.  There 
was  no  doubt  of  the  connivance  of  the  government  of  La  Plata,  and 
Dom  Pedro  declared  war  against  the  Argentine  Republic  at  the  close 
of  1825.  England  helped  to  stir  up  the  quarrel.  This  campaign 
was  a  series  of  fruitless  battles  and  mortifying  defeats.  To 
these  difficulties  there  were  added  the  attempts  of  the  numerous  and 
powerful  Federal  Republican  party,  and  the  claims  and  threats  of 
the  mother  country.  Portugal  had  not  willingly  resigned  herself 
to  the  loss  of  the  rich  colony  whose  revenues  were  more  than  ever 
necessary.  John  VI.,  betrayed  by  his  wife  and  his  son,  Miguel; 
surrounded  by  conspiracies;  wearied  by  the  dissensions  in  his  cab- 
inet, and  enfeebled  by  his  sufferings,  dragged  on  a  miserable  exist- 
ence, and  was  thought  to  be  epileptic.  On  May  13,  1825,  at  the  in- 
stance of  Sir  Charles  Stuart,  the  representative  of  the  British  gov- 
ernment at  Lisbon,  he  signed,  between  two  nervous  attacks,  letters 
patent  acknowledging  the  independence  of  Brazil  and  its  separation 
from  Portugal ;  but  in  ten  months  the  two  crowns  were  again  united 
on  the  head  of  Dom  Pedro  by  the  death  of  the  unfortunate  king. 
After  holding  both  kingdoms  a  few  months  later  Dom  Pedro  ceded 
the  crown  of  Portugal  to  his  daughter  Maria,  seven  years  of  age, 
who  was  betrothed  to  her  uncle  Aliguel.  British  diplomacy  had 
again  intervened  and  forced  Pedro  to  abdicate  the  more  honorable 
of  the  two  crowns.     It  was  a  cruel  disenchantment  for  him,  and 


168  SOUTH    AMERICA 

1825-1830 

from  that  day  lie  luiderstood  how  precarious  was  his  situation.  He 
desired  that  tlie  Princess  Isabel  3^Iaria  should  act  as  regent  during 
the  minority  of  Maria ;  but  England  insisted  that  the  regent  should 
be  Prince  Miguel,  and  Dom  Pedro  yielded.  Miguel  went  through 
London  on  his  way  to  Portugal.  He  took  the  oath  to  the  charter 
promulgated  by  Dom  Pedro;  but,  urged  on  by  the  Clerical  and 
Absolutist  party,  he  dissolved  the  Cortes,  seized  the  throne  on  his 
own  account,  and  repelled  all  idea  of  marrying  the  young  queen, 
who  was  not  even  allowed  to  disembark  in  Portugal,  and  had  to 
return  to  Brazil  under  the  protection  of  England.  Miguel  yielded 
to  the  influence,  more  or  less  avowed,  of  this  nation,  which  gave 
the  lie  to  its  protests  of  neutrality  by  firing  on  a  body  of  600  par- 
tisans of  Dom  Pedro  when  they  were  entering  Terceira,  the  only 
point  in  the  kingdom  that  remained  loyal  to  Dona  Maria.  The 
policy  of  England  was  to  lessen  the  chances  of  the  undesirable 
reunion  of  Portugal  and  Brazil  by  postponing  indefinitely  the  ac- 
cession of  Dona  Maria. 

Pedro  I.  declared,  notwithstanding  the  anarchy  that  reigned 
in  his  states  and  the  difficulties  of  the  situation,  that  he  would 
maintain  the  despised  rights  of  his  daughter  by  force  of  arms,  but 
the  Brazilians  were  afraid  of  seeing  their  resources  exhausted  in 
defense  of  a  dynastic  question  that  in  reality  did  not  at  all  interest 
them.  Under  such  conditions  the  treaty  which  terminated  the 
unfortunate  campaign  in  the  south  was  signed,  and  the  independ- 
ence of  Montevideo  acknowledged.  The  emperor  was  accused  of 
sacrificing  the  best  port  on  the  La  Plata  and  a  fortress  very  im- 
portant for  the  security  of  the  frontiers  and  the  development  of 
Brazilian  commerce. 

His  second  marriage  was  another  cause  of  complaint.  He 
had  been  a  widower  since  1826,  and  now  (1829)  married  Maria 
Amalia  of  Leuchtenberg,  the  daughter  of  Eugene  Beauharnais,  and 
his  subjects  foresaw  a  new  descent  of  foreigners  on  the  court  and 
the  public  offices.  The  Congress,  reflecting  public  opinion,  assumed 
a  certain  aggressive  attitude  and  was  dissolved  in  September,  1829. 
The  people  muttered  angrily,  and  the  emperor  was  forced  to  hes- 
itate. After  much  vacillation,  he  selected  a  ministry  composed  of 
republicans,  for  the  most  part  Brazilians.  It  was  too  late.  Sud- 
denly changing  his  tactics,  he  presented  a  bill,  at  the  opening  of  the 
legislative  session  in  May,  1830,  restraining  the  liberty  of  the  press. 
Every  moribund  government  takes  vengeance  on  the  press  which 


BRAZIL  169 

1830-1835 

exposes  its  condition.  Just  at  this  time  the  ordinances  of  Charles 
X.  of  France  were  accomphshing  his  downfall,  and  the  shock  of 
the  revolution  of  July  was  felt  beyond  the  Atlantic.  The  storm 
burst  at  last,  and  on  April  6,  1831,  the  capital  rose  in  arms;  the 
multitude  marched  through  the  streets  ancl  the  troops  who  were 
guarding  the  emperor's  palace  joined  the  citizens.  Pedro  I.  under- 
stood that  his  mission  in  America  was  concluded  forever,  and  only 
endeavored  to  disappoint  the  republicans  and  save  the  monarchical 
principle.  The  next  day  he  abdicated  in  favor  of  his  son,  Pedro 
II.,  who  was  then  in  his  sixth  year;  and  on  the  13th  of  the  same 
month  embarked  for  Europe  with  the  intention  of  commanding  in 
person  an  expedition  against  the  usurper  Miguel  and  disputing  with 
him  the  crown  of  Portugal  by  arms. 

He  left  as  guardian  to  his  son,  Pedro  II,,  Bonifacio  Jose  de 
Andrada  e  Silva,  late  head  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  author  of 
the  remarkable  pamphlet,  "  The  Brazilian  Awakening,"  who  had 
been  exiled  to  France  since  the  year  1823.  Andrada,  who  was  at 
Bordeaux,  accepted  the  difficult  office,  but  the  old  revolutionary  min- 
ister, though  his  selection  was  a  guarantee  of  liberty,  was  soon  sus- 
pected by  the  popular  party.  He  was  deprived  of  his  office  in  1833 
and  ejected  from  the  imperial  palace  by  the  public  forces.  Pedro 
II.  was  put  under  the  direct  guardianship  of  a  council  of  regency. 

The  Congress  of  1834  made  important  modifications  in  the 
constitution  by  giving  each  province  a  legislature  of  its  own  and 
leaving  to  it  the  management  of  local  business,  whether  adminis- 
trative, judicial,  financial,  or  municipal.  This  bold  step  saved  the 
unity  of  the  Brazilian  Empire  in  a  critical  moment  when  a  very 
powerful  party  endeavored  to  divide  it  into  small  states  in  order 
to  form  a  federal  republic  similar  to  that  of  the  United  States.  This 
act,  which  was  generally  well  received,  served  afterward  as  a  pre- 
text to  certain  districts  to  rise  in  insurrection;  a  movement  which 
was  easily  suppressed,  except  in  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  where  it  had 
acquired  large  proportions,  prolonging  the  civil  war  for  ten  years. 
Garibaldi  fought  for  some  time  among  the  partisans  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  Rio  Grande.  A  decree  of  amnesty  wisely  promulgated 
put  an  end  to  the  bloody  struggle  which  had  cost  so  many  lives. 

In  1835  the  Congress  of  Deputies  elected  as  regent  Father 
Antonio  Feijo,  Bishop  of  Mariana,  a  senator  and  formerly  Minister 
of  Justice,  at  the  same  time  that  it  excluded  from  the  succession  to 
the  Crown  Dofia  Maria,   Queen  of  Portugal,   and  appointed  as 


170  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1835-1842 

immediate  successor  to  the  throne,  in  case  of  the  decease  of 
Pedro  II.,  his  sister,  Dona  Januaria.  After  two  years  of  effort, 
Feijo  lost  hope  of  reconciHng  the  contending  parties  and  resigned. 
The  former  Minister  of  War,  Pedro  Araujo  de  Liam,  took  his 
place,  and  was  able  to  maintain  himself  until  July,  1840.  But 
when  he  desired  to  dissolve  the  Cortes,  it  declared  the  majority 
of  Pedro  II.,  who  was  then  fifteen  years  of  age.  The  young 
emperor  was  solemnly  crowned  July  18,  1841.  Some  insurrec- 
tionary movements  broke  out  in  the  provinces  of  San  Paulo  and 
jMinas  Geraes,  which  were  strongholds  of  republicanism.  General 
Caxias  put  them  down  in  San  Paulo,  but  the  war  dragged  on  in 
Minas  Geraes,  where  the  Senator  Feleciano  had  collected  a  force  of 
6000  men.  In  1842  Caxias  won  a  decisive  victory  at  San  Lucia 
and  broke  the  strength  of  the  Federal  Republicans.  Six  years  later 
tiie  proud  and  fiery  province  of  Pernambuco  made  a  last  attempt, 
.Amnesty  was  granted  after  all  these  uprisings,  and  resulted  in  a 
thorough  pacification,  so  that  peace  was  restored  without  the  sac- 
rifice of  liberty,  an  eloquent  proof  of  the  folly  of  hangings,  shoot- 
ings, and  bloodshed.  This  policy  of  oblivion,  wisdom,  and  gen- 
erosity secured  the  greatness  of  Brazil.  The  military  commis- 
sions, summary  executions,  and  bloody  revenges  of  181 7  and  1824 
under  John  VI.  and  Pedro  I.  had  led  to  nothing  but  disasters. 

Pedro  II.  was  gentle  and  just,  liberal  and  enlightened.  He 
wielded  his  power  with  intelligence,  and  never  took  advantage  of 
the  difficulties  made  for  him  by  the  reactionary  and  radical  parties 
to  transform  his  government  into  a  military  dictatorship.  His  bus- 
iness ability,  high  character,  tact,  and  moderation  saved  him  from 
tlie  reefs  where  so  many  other  sovereigns  have  suffered  shipwreck. 
Martial  law  was  unknown  in  Brazil;  liberty  of  conscience  and  of 
writing  was  complete,  so  that  many  republican  journals  were  pub- 
lished there  without  fear  of  prosecution.  Pedro  II.  had  grasped  the 
idea  that  liberty  was  the  surest  and  best  means  of  perpetuating  his 
])ower  and  consolidating  his  throne.  He  won  the  esteem  of  the 
jjcople  by  always  treating  parliamentary  government  with  respect. 
He  reigned  but  did  not  govern.  But  though  in  political  affairs  he 
was  careful  to  be  nothing  more  than  the  first  representative  of  "  the 
political  association  of  all  Brazilian  citizens,  in  strict  accordance 
with  the  spirit  of  the  constitution,"  he  none  the  less  exercised 
a  considerable  influence  on  the  affairs  of  the  nation.  He  above 
all  tried  to  develop  the  agricultural,  commercial,  and  maritime  re- 


BRAZIL  ITl 

1842 

sources  of  Brazil,  and  assure  its  national  preponderance  in  South 
America. 

He  faithfully  observed  the  constitution  which  was  the  funda- 
mental law  granted  by  the  edict  of  Pedro  I.  on  March  25,  1824, 
as  amended  by  the  additional  acts  of  August  12,  1834,  and  ]\Iay 
12,  1840.  It  gave  to  the  head  of  the  state  the  title  of  Consti- 
tutional Emperor  and  Perpetual  Defender  of  Brazil.  He  was  the 
first  representative  of  the  nation,  but  the  nation  was  the  sovereign. 
The  legislative  pow^r  was  vested  in  a  Chamber  of  Deputies  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-two  members  elected  for  four  years  by  an  indi- 
rect vote,  and  a  Senate  of  fifty-eight  members  appointed  for  life;  but 
bills  for  taxation,  army  enrollment,  impeachment  of  ministers,  and 
the  choice  of  a  new  dynasty  in  case  of  the  extinction  of  the  imperial 
family,  were  to  originate  in  the  Chamber.  Elections  were  "  indi- 
rect." The  people  chose  electors,  and  these  chose  the  deputies  and 
named  three  persons  for  each  vacant  senatorship,  one  of  whom  was 
chosen  by  the  emperor.  The  princes  of  the  imperial  family  became 
senators  ex  officio  at  the  age  of  twenty-five.  The  two  houses  to- 
gether formed  the  General  Assembly,  which  had  powers  distinct  from 
those  of  each  house  considered  separately.  No  measure  adopted  by 
the  two  houses  could  become  a  law  without  the  approval  of  the  em- 
peror. The  judicial  power  was  vested  in  judges  and  juries;  the 
judges  applying  the  law  and  the  jury  determining  the  facts.  No 
suit  could  be  begun  until  all  means  of  conciliation  had  been  ex- 
hausted, for  which  purpose  justices  of  the  peace  are  elected  in  each 
parish  directly  by  the  people.  The  sovereign's  power  of  pardoning, 
of  convoking  the  two  houses  in  the  interval  of  their  sessions,  and 
of  approving  laws,  constituted  what  was  called  the  "  Moderator's  " 
power.  The  executive  power  belonged  to  the  head  of  the  state. 
Ministers  were  responsible  to  the  legislature.  The  constitution 
guaranteed  to  the  citizens  personal  and  religious  liberty,  the  invio- 
lability of  property,  the  freedom  of  labor  and  the  absolute  liberty 
of  the  press.     Titles  of  nobility  were  not  hereditary.^       Public  in- 

4  The  Brazilians  were  very  fond  of  titles.  Agassiz  shows  this  in  his  "Journey 
to  Brazil."  When  a  splendid  insane  asylum  was  to  be  built  at  Botafogo  the 
government  offered  titles  to  such  citizens  as  were  willing  to  loosen  their 
purse  strings  in  aid  of  this  charitable  institution  so  that  commendadores  and 
barons  were  created,  the  importance  of  the  title  corresponding  to  that  of  the 
gift  which  had  purchased  it.  In  this  manner  large  sums  were  raised  and  many 
of  the  titled  men  of  Rio  Janeiro  got  their  patents  of  nobility.  Manoel  de  Macedo 
also  speaks  of  honorary  distinctions  granted  to  citizens  of  the  capital  and  the 
provinces  who  build  or  by  their  subscriptions  aid  the  building  of  schoolhouses. 


172  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1842-1869 

stniction  was  gratuitous.  Slavery  was  not  recognized  in  the  con- 
stitution and  was  tolerated  only  as  a  right  of  property  acquired  in 
colonial  times. 

The  provinces  into  which  Brazil  was  divided  had  their  local 
legislatures,  elected  every  two  years  and  empowered  to  create,  abol- 
ish, and  change  the  seat  of  government  and  the  area  and  boundaries 
of  parishes,  boroughs,  and  districts.  Each  province  had  a  president, 
appointed  by  the  central  power  as  its  representative,  who  executed 
the  will  of  the  provincial  assembly.  Each  parish  was  subdivided 
into  comarcas  or  districts,  with  municipal  assemblies,  administrative, 
judicial,  and  police  tribunals.  These  municipal  assemblies  were 
elected  for  four  years,  and  consisted  of  nine  members  or  echevins  in 
cities  and  seven  in  boroughs,  the  one  who  headed  the  poll  being 
president.  They  were  charged  with  the  administration  of  municipal 
police,  and  have  their  independent  revenues.  All  these  provinces 
and  comarcas  were  in  touch  with  the  capital,  a  city  not  subject  to 
any  province,  which  was  governed  by  the  senate  and  the  ministry  of 
the  empire.  The  general  government  had  exclusive  control  over 
higher  education,  the  postoffice,  the  financial  system  in  general, 
diplomatic  and  consular  business,  the  police,  and  the  military  and 
naval  forces.  In  the  ecclesiastical  order  it  nominated  the  metropol- 
itan archbishop  and  the  bishops. 

A  strong  political  centralization  resulted  from  this  system, 
which  had  a  broad  administrative  decentralization  as  a  regulator  or 
counterpoise,  since  each  province  had  its  own  special  revenue,  which 
it  administered  itself,  and  a  general  revenue  went  to  the  central 
treasury.  In  fact,  it  was  the  federal  system  of  the  United  States, 
allied  to  a  constitutional  monarchy,  hereditary  in  the  male  line. 

Brazil  had  two  foreign  wars  under  the  rule  of  Pedro  II., 
one  (1851)  against  Rosas,  who  armed  and  supported  Oribe,  with 
the  manifest  object  of  incorporating  Uruguay  with  the  Argentine 
Confederation,  and  the  other  (1865-1869)  against  Paraguay  and 
its  president,  Lopez.  After  what  we  have  already  said,  we  need 
not  again  recount  the  details  of  these  wars.  It  is  sufficient  to  say 
that  this  intervention  of  the  Lusitanian  empire  in  the  affairs  of  La 
Plata  has  been  variously  judged.  Some  have  suspected  that  Brazil 
desired  to  continue  the  colonial  traditions  of  the  Portuguese  and  to 
expand  at  tlie  expense  of  the  neighboring  republic.  On  this  point, 
the  apprehensions  of  Lopez  seem  to  be  justified  in  a  measure  by  a 
secret  note  emanating  from  the  foreign  office  of  Montevideo  and 


DOM   PEDRO  II  ,  EMPEROR  OF  BRAZIL 

(Born    1825.       Died    1891) 
From  a  photograph 


BRAZIL 


1869 


173 


cited  by  the  author  of  "  Brcsil  Contcmporain"  (page  312,  note). 
Portuguese  authors  ^  undertake  to  refute  these  accusations.  "  Bra- 
zil," they  say,  "  has  too  great  an  extent  of  territory,  and  though  she 
wishes  to  retain  it,  she  reaHzes  that  it  is  a  cause  of  weakness  so 
long  as  she  cannot  people  her  deserts,  cover  her  immense  plains 
with  flourishing  cities,  open  roads  through  all  her  uninhabited  for- 
ests, cover  the  streams  and  rivers  with  steamboats  and  thus  carry 


industrial  progress,  life  and  civilization  to  the  uninhabited  interior 
and  its  uncultivated  lands." 

Nevertheless,  it  is  certain  that  Brazilian  statesmen  have  con- 
stantly looked  toward  the  La  Plata  with  ambition,  but  they  know 
that  very  great  obstacles  oppose  them.  What  they  secretly  think 
certain  publicists  openly  assert.  Such  territorial  adjustments  seem 
to  these  pen  and  ink  conquerors  an  inevitable  consequence  of  the 
->  Periera  da  Silva,  ''  Situation  de  I'Empire  du  Bresil." 


174  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 


1869 


antagonism  between  the  Anglo-Saxon  and  the  Hispano-Portuguese 
races.  "These  modifications  are  inevitable,"  they  say,  "because 
Brazil  will  not  be  able  to  resist  the  United  States  effectively  until  it 
has  extended  to  its  natural  boundaries.  Since  the  River  Paraguay 
forms  the  natural  boundary  on  the  west,  the  state  of  that  name 
ought  to  disappear,  as  well  as  Corrientes,  Entre  Rios,  and  the 
Banda  Oriental,  which  prevent  the  empire  extending  itself  to  its 
natural  limit,  which  is  the  Parana.  This  necessity  has  been  pro- 
claimed a  hundred  times,  and  the  Brazilian  government  has  always 
responded  by  energetic  disavowals;  but,  notwithstanding  these  pro- 
tests and  some  excellent  promises,  if  it  w-ere  only  a  question  of 
Brazil,  they  would  merely  prove  the  extreme  repugnance  of  the 
sovereign  and  of  his  responsible  advisers  to  accomplish  a  task 
which  may  be  difficult  but  is  indispensable."^  That  is  easily 
said,  but  this  "  extreme  repugnance  "  may  be  wisdom  or  at  least 
honesty. 

Here  is  another  pronouncement:  "  Perhaps  there  is  no  coun- 
try in  either  hemisphere  that  has  more  right  to  expansion  than 
Brazil  has  to  extend  its  boundaries  on  the  side  of  the  La  Plata.  It 
is  more  than  a  political  want ;  it  is  an  indispensable  necessity  for  the 
prosperity  of  the  country.  The  streams  that  form  the  La  Plata,  that 
is,  the  Parana,  the  Uruguay,  the  Paraguay,  etc.,  all  have  their 
sources  in  Brazilian  territory ;  besides,  these  are  and  will  be  for 
a  long  time  the  only  means  of  communication  that  will  permit  the 
outflow  of  the  productions  of  the  province  of  Matta  Grosso  to  the 
ocean  and  furnish  communication  with  the  capital.  Let  a  war 
break  out  among  the  peoples  along  these  rivers  and  one  of  the 
most  extensive  provinces  of  the  empire  is  immediately  deprived 
of  its  communications  and  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  world  in 
the  midst  of  a  terrible  wilderness."  ^  The  author  of  these  lines 
hastens  to  point  out,  nevertheless,  that  he  does  not  think  that  "  the 
law  of  history  by  which  the  large  states  expand,  live,  and  renew 
themselves  at  the  expense  of  the  small  ones  can  as  yet  be  applicable 
to  Brazil."  If  ever  that  hour  strikes,  Brazil  may  have  to  consider 
her  mighty  neighbor,  the  Anglo-Saxon.  "  The  obstacles  that  ar- 
rested Pedro  I.  before  Montevideo  still  exist,"  he  justly  adds.  The 
enormous  distances,  the  want  of  communications,  the  swamps  which 
overflow  the  country,  and,  above  all,  the  foreign  origin  of  the 

«  Dutot.  "  France  et  Bresil." 

'  D'Assier,   "  Bresil  Contemporain." 


BRAZIL  175 

1862-1863 

population,  Spanish  in  the  Banda  Oriental  and  Indian  in  Paraguay, 
make  the  conquest  almost  impossible, 

Brazil  must  have  thought  so,  when,  after  her  dear-bought 
victory,  she  allowed  the  Republic  of  Paraguay  to  live.  It  is 
true  that  some  extension  of  territory  was  won,  but  an  annexa- 
tion on  the  frontier  has  not  in  unpeopled  countries  the  hostile  char- 
acter that  it  would  have  in  Europe.  The  conqueror  had  claimed 
this  acquisition  for  a  long  time  past,  and  even  after  having  confined 
the  enemy  to  the  territory  situated  between  the  Rivers  Paraguay  and 
Parana,  the  conquerors  thought  that  they  could  prove  that  their 
reasons  for  fighting  were  solely  the  interests  of  liberty  and  civiliza- 
tion so  often  alleged  in  such  cases.  On  that  occasion  the  imperial 
government  put  in  practice  the  doctrines  of  honest  international 
politics,  and  conducted  itself  in  the  best  manner  possible  for  the 
advantage  of  peace  and  tranquillity,  instead  of  abusing  its  victory. 

Violence  had  no  part  in  the  proceedings  of  that  government 
which  showed  itself  merciful  in  the  hour  of  triumph  at  home  as 
well  as  abroad.  Hence,  that  internal  tranquillity  in  contrast  with  the 
endless  and  almost  always  barren  disturbances  of  some  neighbor- 
ing countries.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  empire  was  free  from 
crises.  If  it  did  not  drag  on  from  revolution  to  revolution  like 
Bolivia,  it  suffered  political  shocks  like  Chili.  It  is  only  dead  na- 
tions that  never  move.  Although  political  parties  have  been  broken 
up  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  opinions  have  formed  new  com- 
binations, the  mere  difficulty  of  establishing  a  certain  equilibrium 
between  Liberal  aspirations  and  Conservative  tendencies  raised  par- 
liamentary storms,  overturned  ministries,  and  sometimes  led  to  a 
dissolution  of  the  chambers,  but  Pedro  II.  showed  himself  little  in- 
clined to  sanction  acts  of  this  importance.  The  stormy  year  1862 
ran  its  course  through  many  such  crises.  The  ministries,  which 
w^ere  overthrown  almost  as  soon  as  they  were  formed,  had  to  pre- 
pare for  the  consequences  of  a  conflict  with  England,  which  had 
its  origin  in  the  month  of  June  of  the  previous  year.  On  the  open- 
ing of  the  session  of  May,  1863,  all  the  elements  of  a  hostile  major- 
ity were  united.  In  view  of  foreign  complications  the  emperor  con- 
sented to  that  which  he  had  refused  to  two  previous  ministries.  On 
May  12,  before  any  debate,  the  chambers  were  dissolved,  but 
only  after  all  other  means  had  been  exhausted,  and  the  same  relief 
had  been  denied  to  the  two  preceding  Cabinets. 

This  measure  seemed  a  direct  blow  at  the  Conservative  party, 


176  SOUTH    AMERICA 

1863-1866 

which  bitterly  attacked  the  policy  of  the  ministry,  and,  considering 
the  circumstances,  it  was  a  step  toward  the  Liberal  party.  The 
electoral  campaign  opened,  and  the  Conservative  party  was  over- 
thrown ;  the  Liberals,  united  to  the  ministerialists  by  the  necessities 
of  the  moment,  and  composing  with  them  a  coalition  party  called 
the  league,  were  successful  in  the  final  balloting  on  September  8; 
but  the  Olinda  ministry,  sharply  attacked  by  its  allies  of  yesterday, 
fell  in  January,  1864,  and  was  replaced  on  the  15th  of  the  same 
month  l3y  the  Cabinet  presided  over  by  Zacarias  de  Goes  e  Vascon- 
cellos.  Zacarias  had  been  the  head  of  the  short-lived  ministry 
that  had  given  place  to  the  Marquis  de  Olinda.  This  government, 
being  formed  of  elements  of  all  shades  of  opinion,  had  not  suffi- 
cient strength  to  win  the  support  of  the  country.  In  the  month  of 
September  it  disappeared  in  its  turn,  and  Furtado  was  commis- 
sioned to  form  a  new  Cabinet  of  a  more  strictly  Liberal  character. 

The  position  of  the  country  was  full  of  difficulty,  and  the  treas- 
ury showed  a  deficit.  It  had  been  necessary  to  spend  large  sums  of 
money  on  the  army,  first,  because  of  the  differences  which  arose 
with  Great  Britain,  and  then  as  a  consequence  of  the  war  against 
Montevideo  and  Paraguay.  The  failure  of  one  of  the  first  bank- 
ing houses  of  Rio  Janeiro  and  other  financial  disasters  brought 
on  a  panic,  and  commerce  was  at  a  standstill.  The  levying  of  new 
army  contingents  and  naval  expansion  exhausted  all  the  resources 
of  the  state.  Fortunately  the  quarrel  with  England  had  a  pacific 
termination.  The  Treaty  of  the  Triple  Alliance  of  May  8,  1865, 
was  received  with  rejoicing.  The  people  showed  by  warlike  man- 
ifestations that  they  approved  of  the  campaign  against  Paraguay. 
The  nation  hoped  for  an  extension  of  territory,  and  influence.  No 
one  dreamed  of  condemning  the  expense,  nor  the  exceptional  meas- 
ures adopted,  such  as  forced  enlistment.  Nevertheless,  the  star  of 
the  Furtado  ministry  was  waning,  and  a  vote  of  censure  on  certain 
matters  of  administration  overthrew  it  on  May  24,  1865,  and 
brought  back  to  power  the  Marquis  de  Olinda.  He  chose  his  col- 
leagues from  the  two  factions  of  the  Liberal  party,  the  Moderates 
and  the  Radicals.  In  the  period  now  opening  the  financial  distress 
and  general  misery  increased.  From  1866  the  government  lacked 
men  and  money.  What  new  expedient  could  be  adopted  for  relief? 
The  whites  were  not  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  the  army,  so  the 
blacks  were  enlisted;  and  liberating  the  slaves  to  convert  them  into 
soldiers  opened  the  question  of  emancipation.    Freedom  of  naviga- 


BRAZIL  177 

1866-1874 

tion  was  perforce  adopted  at  the  same  time.  An  attempt  to  place 
a  loan  in  London  failed.  Another  was  tried  in  Brazil  with  little 
more  success,  and  insolvency  was  complete.  In  the  Cabinet  har- 
mony was  at  an  end.  Some  reverses  before  Hiimaita  brought  about 
the  dismissal  of  all  the  ministers,  and  Zacarias  returned  to  power, 
and  took  charge  of  the  finances. 

Such  was  the  situation  when  the  year  1867  opened  in  the  midst 
of  an  electoral  campaign,  in  which  the  government  won  an  uncer- 
tain majority.  It,  like  its  predecessors,  was  blamed  for  the  slow 
progress  of  the  war.  When  would  it  be  finished  ?  What  would  be 
the  reward  for  so  much  bloodshed  and  expense?  The  government 
was  sharply  accused  by  the  Conservatives  for  prematurely  raising 
the  question  of  the  emancipation  of  the  negroes,  and  had  to  face 
the  unpopularity  caused  by  increased  taxation.  In  July,  1868,  the 
emperor  called  a  Conservative  ministry,  and  there  was  an  explosion 
of  wrath  in  Parliament. 

Pedro  II.  recurred  again  to  a  dissolution,  and  a  new  Chamber 
was  elected ;  but  the  same  story  was  repeated.  Indeed,  it  was  the 
inevitable  consequence  of  the  situation  that  Brazil  had  created  for 
herself  by  entering  upon  a  policy  of  distant  adventure.  In  spite 
of  everything  the  government  was  decided  to  prosecute  with  energy 
the  struggle  begun  with  Paraguay,  and  refused  all  offers  of  media- 
tion, nor  could  the  greatest  sacrifices  make  it  desist  from  its  pur- 
pose. At  length  the  death  of  President  Lopez  gave  it  the  victory, 
but  that  difficult  campaign,  which  lasted  five  years,  had  cost  the 
treasury  $255,600,000,  not  to  speak  of  the  blood  spilled  and  the 
thousands  of  men  who  perished  in  a  foreign  land. 

The  ministry  which  came  into  power  at  this  time  promised 
reforms  with  regard  to  the  liberation  of  the  slaves.  These  promises 
were  renewed  in  the  speech  from  the  throne  in  1871,  on  the  open- 
ing of  the  new  legislature,  and  were  fulfilled  by  a  law  which  was 
passed  the  same  year. 

The  time  was  not  far  distant  in  which  the  nation  was  to  pass 
through  another  kind  of  excitement.  The  attitude  of  the  higher 
clergy  in  opposition  to  the  constitutional  laws  produced  one  of 
those  religious  crises  which  always  excite  men's  minds  and  lead 
them  to  intolerance  and  hatred.  Things  were  carried  to  such  a 
point  that  the  government  had  to  punish  the  ultramontane  fac- 
tion, and  in  March,  1874,  the  Supreme  Court  condemned  the 
Bishop  of  Pernambuco  to  four  years'  imprisonment.  The  Bishops  of 


178  SOUTH    AMERICA 

1874-1876 

Olinda  and  Para  were  arrested  and  prosecuted  for  similar  offenses, 
and  the  Jesuits  were  expelled  from  the  province  of  Pernambuco. 
This  was  enough  to  arouse  the  anger  of  the  Clerical  party.  In 
the  session  of  September  2,  1874,  the  Rio  Branco  Ministry  was 
suddenly  attacked  by  some  fanatical  deputies,  who  went  so  far 
as  to  demand  its  immediate  impeachment  for  treason  and  con- 
spiracy against  the  religion  of  the  state.  This  ministry  had  to 
suppress  an  insurrection  in  the  district  of  San  Leopoldo,  and 
the  clergy  thundered  against  it,  calling  it  the  "  Excommunicated 
Ministry  "  and  the  "  Freemason  Ministry."  The  sovereign  vacil- 
lated, and  the  Liberals  saw  with  pain  the  fall  of  the  ministry 
that  had  fought  with  so  much  courage  against  the  unreasonable 
demands  and  aggressions  of  an  ignorant  and  overbearing  sect, 
which  is  a  continual  menace  to  the  young  nations  of  America. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade.  It 
resulted  in  turning  speculation  to  a  more  legitimate  and  honorable 
field  for  the  employment  of  capital.  The  more  important  ameliora- 
tions that  Brazil  now  enjoys  date  from  the  suppression  of  that 
crime.  The  railways,  those  life-giving  arteries  of  industry,  agri- 
culture, and  commerce,  laid  their  first  rails  and  soon  were  estab- 
lished and  extended  with  a  species  of  patriotic  ardor;  the  electric 
telegraphs  stretched  their  civilizing  wires  from  the  great  markets 
of  the  coast  to  the  fertile  fields  of  the  interior,  and  at  the  present 
time  the  submarine  cable  has  placed  Brazil  in  constant  communica- 
tion with  Europe.  Many  public  roads  have  been  made,  conveyances 
are  more  rapid  and  commodious,  and  gas  illuminates  the  towns. 
Since  1867  the  great  River  Amazon  has  been  open  to  the  commerce 
of  the  world,  and  the  admission  of  the  merchant  ships  of  all  nations 
to  free  navigation  in  the  Brazilian  waters  of  the  great  river  has 
exercised  a  very  great  influence  on  the  civilization  of  those  uncul- 
tivated regions.  Lines  of  steamers  bind  in  close  relations  the  mari- 
tmie  and  riverside  provinces  and  towns;  enterprises  are  multiplied, 
and  the  general  prosperity  is  increased  by  the  competition  of  private 
businesses  and  interests.  Public  education  receives  a  strong  stim- 
ulus and  the  liberty  of  teaching  is  coming  to  be  a  reality.  The  as- 
sembly of  the  province  of  Rio  Janeiro,  in  1871,  made  instruction 
obligatory  for  children  between  seven  and  fourteen  years  of  age. 
Poor  scholars  were  clothed  at  the  expense  of  the  provincial  budget. 
The  higher  education  had  two  schools  of  medicine,  two  of  law; 
one  military  school,  a  central  school  and  a  naval  school.  The  French 


BRAZIL  179 

1871-1876 

astronomer,  M.  Liais,  was  selected  to  organize  the  observatory  of 
Rio  Janeiro  in  1874;  and  Pedro  II.,  knowing-  that  the  future  of 
his  empire  must  rest  chiefly  on  the  progress  of  agricuUure,  founded 
two  agricultural  institutes  during  his  journey  through  the  immense 
Brazilian  provinces,  one  at  Bahia  and  the  other  in  Pernambuco. 
A  third  was  founded  in  the  capital  in  i860. 

According  to  Audiganne  {"La  lutte  industrielle  des  peiiplcs, 
1868")  in  the  Universal  Exhibition  of  1867  there  was  hardly  any 
better  classified  and  arranged  department  than  that  of  Brazil, 
which  contained  3558  articles,  exhibited  by  684  persons.  They  had 
been  chosen  from  over  more  than  20,000  exhibitors  in  an  exhibition 
opened  at  Rio  Janeiro  in  1866.  In  1873  Brazil  obtained  202  prizes 
in  the  Vienna  Exhibition.  A  National  Exhibition,  opened  at  Rio 
on  December  2,  1875,  was  very  successful.  In  1876  the  Emperor 
and  Empress  of  Brazil  were  present  at  the  opening  of  the  Philadel- 
phia Exhibition,  in  which  Brazil  was  worthily  represented.  The 
products  of  Brazil  which  occupy  the  principal  place  in  international 
commerce  are  coffee,  cotton  (the  cultivation  of  which  received  a 
great  impulse  in  i860),  sugar,  cacao,  tobacco,  tapioca,  hides,  and 
morocco  leather.  Woods  of  every  species  abound  in  the  interior 
in  easy  reach  of  the  streams. 

Pedro  II.,  who  traveled  over  the  country  in  i860  to  learn  its 
needs  at  first  hand,  went  to  examine  the  European  civilization, 
and  thus  was  able  to  judge  of  the  improvements  that  might  be 
introduced  into  Brazil.  In  December,  1871,  he  remained  for  a  con- 
siderable time  in  Paris,  where  he  carefully  inspected  the  principal 
scientific  and  literary  institutions.^  On  his  return  to  Rio  Janeiro 
he  submitted  various  bills  to  the  Chambers  for  the  development  of 
primary  instruction,  the  establishment  of  new  railways,  and  the  re- 
form of  the  electoral  law  so  that  it  should  become  "  the  authentic 
expression  of  the  popular  will."  In  his  message  of  1873  he  ex- 
pressed himself  thus :  "  Electoral  reform  will  secure  the  first  neces- 
sary condition  of  our  form  of  government,  whose  chief  strength 
must  emanate  from  public  opinion  and  the  authority  of  the  law." 

A  broader  and  more  vital  administrative  decentralization  for  the 
provinces  was  demanded  by  enlightened  minds,  and  legislation  calcu- 
lated to  secure  the  rights  of  immigrants.  The  good  fortune  and  the 
future  of  the  country  might  be  said  to  depend  on  these  questions  of 
administrative  decentralization  and  of  European  emigration.     It 

*  He  became  a  member  of  the  French  Geographical  Society  in  1868. 


180  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1876 

must  be  confessed  that  the  native  free  population  rarely  engages  in 
industrial  labor  and  these  occupations  are  almost  exclusively  in 
luiropcan  hands.  Unfortunately,  the  low  wages  of  slave  labor  made 
the  position  of  foreign  workmen  precarious;  good  agricultural  la- 
borers who  immigrate  with  their  families  are  in  an  insecure  position, 
since  generally  the  colonist  is  almost  entirely  in  the  power  of  the 
proprietor  who  employs  him.  The  government,  nevertheless,  de- 
cided to  cooperate  with  energy  in  all  efforts  tending  to  make  the 
emigrant  who  starts  for  the  New  World  take  the  road  to  Brazil. 
In  1872  it  opened  a  large  lodging  house,  called  Hospedaria  do 
Govcrno,  which  could  lodge  and  feed  500  persons  and  give  hos- 
{jitality  to  those  who  arrived  without  resources  and  were  obliged 
to  wait  until  work  was  given  them  to  provide  for  their  maintenance. 
Every  adult,  eighteen  years  of  age,  might  obtain  gratuitously  from 
two  to  seven  and  a  half  acres  of  land,  or  from  50  to  200  acres 
simply  by  making  application  to  the  government.  Domestic  animals 
were  very  cheap.  A  horse  cost  $35,  a  cow  $20,  a  fat  pig  $2,  and  a 
fowl  ten  cents,  so  that  stock-raising  is  a  growing  industry,  espe- 
cially among  the  Scotch,  who  are  masters  of  this  branch  of  agri- 
culture. 

Numerous  groups  of  English,  Swiss,  and  German  colonists 
formed  what  may  be  called  separate  colonies,  which  were  in  a 
really  flourishing  condition.  Their  inhabitants  constructed  com- 
modious houses;  some  established  manufactures,  and  others  devoted 
themselves  to  the  cultivation  of  the  fields,  or  the  exploitation  of  the 
forests,  and  many  English  miners  were  employed  in  extracting 
the  wealth  buried  in  the  earth.** 

We  conclude  this  chapter  as  we  began  it,  by  saying  that  from 
the  ])oint  of  view  of  its  economic  problems  the  empire  of  Brazil, 
which  has  grown  out  of  the  old  Portuguese  colony,  bears  a  close 
resemblance  to  the  old  Spanish  colonies  which  are  now  the  repub- 
lics of  the  New  World. 

^  Unfortunately  most  of  the  colonists  whom  speculators  send  to  Brazil  with 
fine  promises  are  cruelly  undeceived  on  their  arrival.  "  Many  requirements,  of 
which  they  are  probably  not  informed  in  advance,  are  necessary  to  enable  a 
colonist  to  make  a  profit  in  agriculture  in  a  new  country  like  Brazil.  Several 
years  must  pass  before  he  can  get  any  return  from  his  labor  and  unless  he  is 
carried  over  this  period,  his  failure  is  certain."  (Biard,  "  Voyage  au  Bresil, 
iS^H,  i8^(^;  ic  Tour  du  Munde,  1861,"  2d  Scmcstre.) 


Chapter    XII 

BOLIVAR   AND    BOLIVIA.     1 825-1 876 

BOLIVIA  is  shut  up  in  the  center  of  the  southern  conti- 
nent with  Peru  and  Chili  on  the  west,  Brazil  on  the 
north  and  east,  and  the  Argentine  Republic  on  the  south. 
Its  obscurity  has  not  sheltered  it  from  political  storms.  Insur- 
rections have  followed  one  another  with  discouraging  frequency, 
and  have  resulted  in  chronic  instability  and  the  paralysis  of  all 
development,  thus  affecting  the  most  important  interests  of  the 
people  and  devoting  them  to  ignorance  and  misery. 

Yet  Bolivia  is  endowed  with  exceptional  conditions  of  fertility. 
The  valleys  and  plains  present  the  magical  wonders  of  the  tropical 
flora,  the  Cordillera  holds  in  its  depths  all  the  valuable  metals — gold, 
silver,  copper,  and  lead.  The  famous  mountain  of  Potosi,  which 
in  three  centuries  has  produced  $448,000,000,  is  but  the  culminating 
point  of  a  silver-bearing  chain  whose  boundless  wealth  has  never 
been  seriously  calculated. 

Sucre  or  Chuquisaca,  7000  feet  above  sea  level,  is  on  the  water- 
shed of  the  Amazon  and  the  La  Plata.  At  the  foot  of  two  hills  of 
porphyry,  which  resemble  gigantic  sphynxes  looking  down  upon  the 
town  from  the  Cordilleras,  there  rise  two  little  rivulets.  They  flow 
in  different  directions  and  soon  become  the  two  mighty  rivers  of 
South  America,  flowing  toward  the  ocean,  one  northward,  the  other 
southward,  and  inviting  Europe  to  exploit  the  field  that  lies  waiting 
on  their  banks  for  modern  industry.  Here  are  the  outlets  of 
Bolivia,  but  unfortunately  there  is,  as  yet,  little  river  traffic,  and  the 
only  industries  are  mining  and  gathering  Peruvian  bark  (cinchona). 

The  five  provinces  of  La  Paz,  Potosi,  Charcas,  Cochabamba,  and 
Santa  Cruz  were  known  as  Upper  Peru  before  forming  themselves 
into  an  independent  state  under  the  name  of  Bolivia,  and  had  first 
been  a  part  of  the  united  provinces  of  La  Plata.  This  country,  after 
Colombia,  suffered  most  in  the  cause  of  emancipation,  and  every 
one  of  its  towns  was  several  times  given  up  to  pillage  and  slaughter. 
"  Upper  Peru,"  says  its  Declaration  of  Independence,  "  has  been  the 

181 


182  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1825 

altar  on  which  flowed  the  first  blood  shed  for  liberty,  and  the  land 
where  the  last  tyrant  lies  buried.  .  .  .  The  barbarous  burning 
of  more  than  a  hundred  villages,  the  destruction  of  towns,  the 
scaffolds  raised  everywhere  for  the  partisans  of  liberty,  the  blood 
of  a  thousand  victims  who  suffered  torments  that  would  have  made 
the  Caribs  themselves  shudder;  the  forced  contributions  and  ex- 
actions, as  arbitrary  as  they  were  inhuman;  the  insecurity  of  the 
honor  and  lives  of  persons,  and  of  property,  and,  lastly,  an  atrocious 
and  savage  inquisitorial  system  have  not  been  able  to  extinguish 
the  sacred  fire  of  liberty  and  the  just  hatred  of  the  Spanish  power." 
The  fifty  deputies  who  formed  the  Congress,  which  met  in  Chu- 
quisaca  on  August  6,  1825,  representing  the  sovereign  power  of 
Upper  Peru,  expressed  themselves  in  these  terms,  barely  four 
months  after  the  remains  of  the  Spanish  forces,  commanded  by 
Olaneta,  had  been  finally  defeated  at  Potosi.  The  battle  of  Tus- 
mula,  fought  on  April  i,  1825,  had  put  an  end  to  a  struggle,  which, 
after  Ayacucho,  could  be  no  longer  sustained  by  the  royalists. 
Bolivar,  when  he  appointed  Sucre  provisional  head  of  the  recently 
liberated  provinces,  advised  them  to  shape  their  own  destiny.  Peru, 
by  a  decree  of  February  23,  and  Rio  de  la  Plata,  by  the  law  of 
May  9,  left  them  "  the  free  and  spontaneous  decision  of  what  was 
most  suitable  to  their  prosperity  and  government."  Under  these 
conditions  the  Congress  decided  for  independence,  and  on  August 
II,  1825,  a  new  republic  was  formed  in  South  America,  with  more 
inhabitants  than  Chili,  and  even  than  La  Plata.  It  took  the  name 
of  the  Republic  of  Bolivar,  in  honor  of  its  liberator,  and  shortly 
after  that  of  Bolivia,  which  it  has  preserved. 

Workmg  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  triumph,  carried  away 
by  a  species  of  patriotic  delirium  and  the  necessity  of  noisy  expres- 
sions, the  Congress  voted  a  series  of  measures,  in  which  the  Creole 
character  is  clearly  revealed.  The  slave  noisily  shaking  off  the 
chains  which  he  has  at  last  broken,  hastens  to  made  a  parade  of  the 
freedom  bought  at  so  dear  a  price,  and  with  the  overflowing  ardor 
of  the  neophyte  couches  his  decrees  and  proclamations  in  the 
most  emphatic  and  declamatory  terms.  It  was  announced  "  to  the 
whole  continent"  that  Upper  Peru  recognized  in  Bolivar  "her 
good  father,"  and  the  supreme  executive  power  of  the  republic  was 
conceded  to  the  hero  of  South  America,  with  the  titles  of  Protector 
and  President.  The  Congress  resolved  that  the  anniversary  of  the 
battle  of  Junin  and  the  birthday  of  the  Liberator  should  be  annually 


BOLIVIA  183 

1825 

celebrated  with  public  rejoicings;  that  the  portrait  of  Bolivar  should 
be  placed  in  all  courts  of  justice,  town  halls,  universities,  colleges, 
schools,  and  places  of  public  instruction,  in  order  that  the  sight  of 
it  should  keep  up  the  remembrance  of  the  father  of  his  country  and 
be  a  stimulant  to  imitate  his  great  virtues,  and  that  his  equestrian 
statue  should  be  placed  "  on  a  column  "  in  all  the  provincial  capitals. 
General  Sucre,  decorated  with  the  title  of  Grand  Marshal  of 
Ayacucho,  was  ordered  to  have  struck,  and  to  present  to  the  Lib- 
erator, a  gold  medal  surrounded  with  diamonds,  on  which  were 
shown  the  mountain  of  Potosi  and  the  Liberator  high  on  a 
trophy  of  muskets,  swords,  cannon,  and  banners,  placing  the  liberty 
cap  on  the  summit  of  the  mountain.  Sucre  was  equally  well  treated. 
Congress  willed  that  the  anniversary  of  his  birth  and  that  of  the 
battle  of  Ayacucho  should  be  celebrated  each  year,  that  his  portrait 
should  be  placed  everywhere  at  the  left  hand  of  that  of  the  Libera- 
tor, and  that  a  pedestrian  statue  of  him  should  be  erected  in  each 
provincial  capital.  He  was  acknowledged  as  the  first  general  of 
the  nation,  with  the  title  of  captain-general,  besides  enjoying  the 
title  of  "  Defender  and  Great  Citizen  of  the  Republic  of  Bolivar." 
At  the  same  time  the  province  of  Chuquisaca  and  the  capital  also  re- 
ceived the  name  of  Sucre,  and  it  was  resolved  to  present  to  him  a 
gold  medal  set  with  diamonds,  representing  the  grand  marshal  de- 
livering Peru,  under  the  form  of  a  lama,  from  the  claws  of  a  lion, 
with  the  following  inscription :  "  The  Republic  of  Bolivar  to  her  De- 
fender, the  Hero  of  Ayacucho."  Nor  was  this  all;  a  large  gold 
medal  was  to  be  struck  representing  as  the  symbol  of  America, 
an  Indian  girl,  seated  on  a  lion's  skin  under  a  tent  formed  of 
the  banners  of  the  states  of  the  continent.  She  was  to  embrace 
the  Liberator  with  her  right  hand  and  the  Grand  Marshal  with 
her  left.  These  two  heroes  were  to  be  represented  decorating 
her  with  a  liberty  cap,  and  heaping  up  at  her  feet  broken 
chains  and  shackles.  On  each  side  the  names  of  the  other  generals 
and  chiefs  who  had  taken  part  in  the  battles  of  Junin  and  Ayacucho 
were  to  be  engraved,  and  below  those  of  the  commandants  and  of- 
ficers who  had  distinguished  themselves  there.  This  medal  was 
to  be  placed  in  the  Hall  of  Congress.  Lastly,  everyone  who  fought 
in  those  battles  received  the  title  of  citizen  of  the  republic,  and 
$1,000,000  was  put  in  Bolivar's  hands,  at  least  on  paper,  for  dis- 
tribution among  the  army  of  liberation. 

By  another  decree  of  August  31  the  government  was  declared 


184  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1825 

to  be  representative  republican,  and  (we  quote  word  for  word)  cen- 
tralized, uniform  and  indivisible.  Bolivar,  whose  authority  ap- 
pears to  have  been  more  absolute  in  Bolivia  than  in  Peru  and 
Colombia,  was  petitioned  to  draw  up  the  social  compact,  and  the 
result  of  his  labors  was  that  frame  of  government,  the  object  of  so 
much  criticism,  known  under  the  name  of  the  Bolivian  Code,  which 
his  admirers  considered  a  model  constitution.  According  to  proofs 
that  he  has  left  in  his  own  handwriting,  he  intended  from  that 
time  to  apply  this  production  of  his  political  thought  first  to  Peru 
and  then  to  Colombia.  This  document,  then,  is  of  great  his- 
torical interest  and  gives  the  measure  of  the  Liberator's  ideas  of 
organization.  The  discourse  or  exposition  of  principles  which  ac- 
companied its  promulgation  deserves  minute  consideration.  The 
advantages  of  a  permanent,  and,  we  may  say,  hereditary  govern- 
ment are  demonstrated  in  it.  with  a  conviction  very  surprising  in  a 
republican  who  professed  to  be  weary  of  power,  but  who  without 
doubt  dreamed  of  holding  the  supreme  and  irresponsible  presidency 
of  an  immense  republic  of  the  United  States  of  South  America. 

After  laying  down  the  principle  that  tyranny  and  anarchy  are 
like  an  immense  ocean  of  oppression  beating  against  a  small  island 
of  liberty  and  continually  threatening  to  submerge  it  by  the  vio- 
lence of  its  waves,  the  Liberator  establishes  four  political  powers: 
every  ten  citizens  appoint  an  elector  whose  authority  lasts  four 
years;  the  electors  elect  three  Chambers:  that  of  the  tribunes,  also 
elected  for  four  years,  has  the  exclusive  privilege  of  legislating  on 
the  imposts,  peace  and  war;  the  Senate,  which  lasts  eight  years, 
watches  over  the  tribunals  and  religion,  and  the  Chamber  of  Cen- 
sors, whose  members  hold  their  seats  for  life,  has  a  political  and 
moral  power  which  has  a  certain  likeness  to  that  exercised  by  the 
Areopagus  at  Athens  and  the  Censors  of  Rome,  and  is  the  guard- 
ian of  the  constitution  and  the  fulfillment  of  public  treaties.  Boli- 
var doubtless  knew  Franklin's  witty  fable  on  the  vaunted  bicameral 
system :  "  A  snake  with  two  heads  and  one  body  was  going  to 
the  brook  to  drink,  and  on  her  way  was  to  pass  through  a  hedge, 
a  twig  of  which  opposed  her  direct  course:  one  head  chose  to  go 
on  the  riglit  side  of  the  twig,  the  other  on  the  left,  so  that  time 
was  spent  in  the  contest,  and,  before  the  decision  was  completed, 
the  poor  snake  died  of  thirst."  ^  That  is  why  Bolivar  gave  the 
monster  a  third  head,  whose  functions  as  arbitrator  and  balance  he 
explains  thus:  "Every  difference  between  two  of  these  chambers 
1  Franklin,  Works,  cd.  by  V.  Bigclov/.  v.  x,  p.  i86. 


BOLIVIA  185 

1825-1828 

is  decided  by  the  intervention,  of  the  third.  A  question  examined 
and  discussed  by  both  sides  will  then  be  submitted  to  the  impartial 
judgment  of  the  third,  so  that  no  useful  law  can  remain  without 
effect,  or  at  least,  before  being  rejected,  will  have  been  put  to  the 
proof  two  and  sometimes  three  times."  And  being  convinced  of 
the  excellence  of  his  idea,  he  adds  with  an  air  of  triumph:  "  In  all 
the  affairs  of  life,  when  difficulties  arise  between  two  parties,  a 
third  is  named  to  settle  them ;  would  it  not  be  absurd  that  so  simple 
a  means  should  be  ignored  and  despised  when  the  most  important 
interests  of  society  are  in  question  ?  "  But  by  an  important  provision 
Bolivar  confers  the  executive  power  upon  a  president  for  life,  aided 
by  a  vice-president  appointed  by  him  and  e.v  officio  his  successor. 

In  May,  1826,  the  Congress,  elected  under  the  influence  of 
Colombian  bayonets,  voted  this  constitution  by  acclamation;  but 
outside  the  Assembly  a  veritable  tempest  broke  out  against  its 
author.  Bolivar,  invested  with  the  power  that  he  himself  had 
created,  left  it  provisionally  in  the  hands  of  the  grand  marshal. 
On  December  9,  which  was  the  day  on  which  the  constitution  came 
into  force,  and  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Ayacucho,  Sucre 
gave  in  his  resignation,  and  on  being  reelected  accepted  the  presi- 
dency for  two  years  only. 

The  Colombian  influence  caused  secret  discontent  in  Bolivia 
and  Peru  which  soon  burst  forth  openly.  The  two  countries  agreed 
to  drive  out  the  foreigner  and  overturn  the  institutions  and  govern- 
ments that  Bolivar  had  created.  Sucre  attempted  to  reestablish  the 
prestige  of  the  Colombian  name  in  Lima ;  but  he  had  enough  to  do 
to  maintain  his  authority  in  Bolivia.  The  enormous  contributions 
that  he  laid  upon  the  country  and  the  absolute  power  that  he  exer- 
cised alienated  the  sympathies  of  the  people  from  him.  There  were 
conspiracies  even  in  his  little  army  and  he  shot  several  of  his  best 
officers.  In  1827  some  Colombian  soldiers,  mercenaries  of  the 
republic,  rose,  headed  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Guerra.  Sucre  at- 
tacked them  and  received  so  severe  a  wound  in  the  left  arm  that 
amputation  was  necessary.  Other  popular  risings  took  place;  the 
Colombian  troops  were  expelled  in  April,  1828,  and  Sucre,  after  a 
desperate  resistance,  had  to  give  way  to  numbers.  He  left  the 
country;  and  we  know  how  he  perished  two  years  afterward,  a 
victim  to  his  fidelity  to  the  cause  of  the  Liberator. 

A  new  Congress,  which  met  on  August  3,  remodeled  the  consti- 
tution from  top  to  bottom,  and  elected  to  the  presidency  General 


186  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1828-1836 

Santa  Cruz,  who  was  then  thirty-four  years  old  and  had  held 
supreme  power  in  Peni  for  a  short  time.  As  he  hesitated  to  accept 
the  honor,  Velasco  seized  the  dictatorship,  which  he  was  able  to 
hold  for  four  months,  until  Congress  deposed  the  usurper  and 
elected  General  Blanco  in  his  place.  This  man  perished  in  a  revolt 
on  the  night  of  January  i,  1829,  and  then  a  provisional  government 
offered  the  presidency  again  to  Santa  Cruz,  who  accepted  it. 

On  June  24,  1831,  the  first  legislative  assembly  opened.  The 
chief  point  in  the  president's  message  related  to  the  recognition  of 
Bolivia  by  France,  which,  "  being  the  first  European  power  to  rec- 
ognize our  national  existence,  is  justly  entitled  to  be  preferred  in 
our  markets  and  in  all  our  international  relations."  In  the  same 
year  Santa  Cruz  promulgated  the  code  that  bears  his  name,  and 
from  that  time  some  degree  of  order  began  to  be  established  in  the 
pubHc  finances.  According  to  a  ministerial  report  presented  to  the 
Chambers  in  August,  1832,  the  budget  of  expenses  amounted  to 
$1,486,026,  and  of  income  to  $1,700,719.  Certain  difficulties 
which  arose  with  Peru  were  amicably  arranged,  and  a  treaty  of 
peace  and  commerce  was  signed  between  the  two  countries.  Santa 
Cruz,  desiring  to  stimulate  agriculture,  industry,  and  the  sciences, 
endeavored  to  attract  Europeans  by  offering  them  certain  favors 
and  advantages.  The  army  of  Bolivia  at  that  time  was  the  best 
organized,  disciplined,  and  equipped  in  all  South  America. 

Some  passing  disturbances  did  not  interfere  with  the  pros- 
perity of  the  republic,  and  the  neighboring  states  might  envy  the 
relative  tranquilHty  that  was  enjoyed  there.  It  was  even  then 
called  in  Europe  the  Switzerland  of  South  America.  The  simple 
manners  of  its  inhabitants,  their  honesty,  their  desire  for  education, 
and  also  the  steepness  of  their  mountains,  which  formed  a  natural 
defense,  really  justified  the  comparison.  Then  it  was  that  Santa 
Cruz,  who  was  appointed  arbitrator  between  the  claimants  to  the 
presidency  of  Peru,  realized  for  his  own  advantage  the  immortal 
tale  of  "  the  Oyster  and  the  Litigants."  ^  Two  pilgrims  see  an 
oyster  on  the  beach  and,  to  settle  a  dispute  as  to  its  ownership, 
choose  an  arbitrator  who  eats  the  oyster  and  gives  each  a  shell. 
Compare  the  story  of  Daniel  O'Connell's  arbitration  of  the  owner- 
slup  of  a  sovereign  in  a  like  case  and  his  pocketing  the  coin  as 
his  fee. 

Santa  Cruz  entered  Peru  at  the  head  of  5000  men  in  May,  1835, 
and  made  himself  master  of  the  country  by  the  end  of  the  following 
-  La  Fontaine  "  Fables,"  ix.  9. 


BOLIVIA  187 

1836-1842 

February.  Tlie  conqueror  divided  Peru  into  two  states,  forming 
one  out  of  the  provinces  of  the  North,  and  the  other  out  of  those 
of  the  South;  he  gave  each  a  constitution  which  guaranteed  its 
independence  in  internal  matters,  but  subjected  them  both  to  a 
central  government  of  which  he  was  the  head  with  the  title  of  pro- 
tector. These  two  states  united  with  Bolivia  formed  the  Peru- 
Bolivian  Confederation. 

These  events  were  not  of  a  nature  to  tranquilize  the  neigh- 
boring republics.  Chili  especially  was  uneasy,  and  soon  found 
a  pretext  for  war.  The  struggle  lasted  nearly  three  years,  and 
was  ended  on  January  20,  1839,  by  the  defeat  of  Santa  Cruz.  This 
confirmed  the  defection  of  Ballivian,  the  commander  of  the  army 
of  the  Center,  and  of  Velasco,  who  held  the  command  in  Bolivia. 
The  latter  got  himself  recognized  as  provisional  president  by  .a  Con- 
gress which  met  in  Chuquisaca  on  June  16,  1839,  and  Ballivian 
obtained  the  vice-presidency.  This  was  a  death-blow  for  the  con- 
federation; Velasco  made  peace  with  Chili.  Santa  Cruz  escaped 
the  fury  of  his  enemies  only  by  the  protection  of  the  British  agent, 
and  embarked  for  Guayaquil  j\Iarch  13,  after  resigning  the  author- 
ity which  his  own  soldiers  would  have  taken  from  him. 

The  protector  left  many  friends  behind  him  who  soon  got  the 
upper  hand  again;  his  administration  was  declared  irreproachable 
by  Congress,  and  in  a  short  time  a  revolution  was  got  up  in  his 
favor.  Colonels  Agreda  and  Goitia  seized  Velasco,  whom  they 
found  at  card-play  in  the  house  of  a  lady  of  the  city.  At  the  same 
time  the  commander  of  a  battalion  who  had  come  from  Guayaquil 
with  a  handful  of  men  endeavored  to  raise  the  north  of  Peru;  but 
he  was  taken  and  shot.  Santa  Cruz  did  not  appear,  and  Ballivian, 
who  had  gone  to  Peru,  learning  of  these  events,  undertook  to  sub- 
due the  party  of  the  protector.  Gamarra,  the  President  of  Peru, 
lent  his  aid  to  this  project,  expecting  to  obtain  the  province  of  La 
Paz  as  the  reward  of  his  cooperation;  but  wdien  Ballivian  had  ob- 
tained power  he  ordered  his  ally  to  evacuate  the  territory.  This  did 
not  please  Gamarra,  who  occupied  La  Paz  and  took  possession  of 
Viacha  in  the  autumn  of  1841 ;  but  on  November  18  of  the  same 
year  his  army  of  5200  men  was  defeated  on  the  plain  of  Ingavi 
by  3800  Bolivian  soldiers  commanded  by  Ballivian  in  person. 
Gamarra  lost  his  life  in  that  battle,  and  his  men,  pursued  by  the 
enemy's  lancers,  were  almost  all  killed.  Strengthened  by  his  vic- 
tory, Ballivian  entered  Peru  in  order  to  seize  a  part  of  it,  taking 


188  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1842-1861 

advantage  of  internal  quarrels.  On  June  7,  1842,  peace  was  signed 
in  Pasco  through  the  intervention  and  under  the  guarantee  of  Chili. 
During  this  period  Santa  Cruz,  who  v;as  meditating  in  Guayaquil 
on  the  means  of  regaining  power  after  all  his  attempts  to  revolu- 
tionize Peru  in  his  favor  had  failed,  ventured  to  return  to  Bolivia 
in  1844,  but  was  arrested  in  the  Cordilleras  and  afterward  handed 
over  to  Chili. 

Ballivian  also  fell  in  his  turn  and  retired  to  Valparaiso.  Ve- 
lasco,  who  recovered  power,  did  no  more  than  appear  and  disap- 
pear. At  the  end  of  1848  the  Minister  of  War,  Belzu,  put  him- 
self at  the  head  of  a  movement  whose  object  was  to  obtain  the 
presidency  for  himself  or  to  aid  Santa  Cruz,  who  was  exiled  in 
Europe.  The  army  pronounced  in  favor  of  Belzu.  This  violent 
and  capricious  dictator,  supported  by  military  demagogy,  subjected 
Bolivia  to  the  caprices  of  his  despotism.  During  his  administra- 
tion, nevertheless,  tlie  irritating  question  of  the  boundaries  between 
Upper  and  Lower  Peru  was  settled  at  last  (1855);  the  port  of 
Arica  was  declared  common  to  the  two  republics,  and  the  waters 
of  Bolivia  were  opened  to  navigation  under  all  flags.  General 
Cordova  succeeded  Belzu  in  the  presidency  in  1855,  disappeared 
in  1858,  after  a  revolt,  and  perished  by  a  violent  death  three  years 
later  in  a  rash  enterprise.  Dr.  Linares,  who  was  raised  to  the 
I)resi(lency  by  the  Liberals,  was  a  man  of  talent  and  struggled 
against  the  military  party;  but  fell,  without  tumult  or  effusion  of 
blood,  in  consequence  of  a  palace  revolution,  excited  by  a  few 
generals,  under  the  pretext  that  he  had  not  convoked  the  Con- 
gress (Januar>-  14,  1861).  A  Council  of  State,  composed  of  Ru- 
perto  Fernandez.  Jose  Maria  Acha,  and  Manuel  Antonio  Sanchez, 
undertook  the  direction  of  affairs,  put  Linares  on  trial,  exiled  him, 
decreed  a  general  amnesty,  and  convoked  an  assembly  to  recon- 
stitute the  republic  once  more.  The  fall  of  Linares  excited  some 
movements  in  the  provinces  which  were  quenched  in  blood.  In 
La  Paz  Colonel  Yanez,  enraged  against  the  Spaniards  and  their 
half-breeds  with  that  mortal  hatred  of  the  pure  Indian  race  to 
which  he  belonged,  had  100  persons  shot  at  one  time,  among  whom 
were  ex-President  Cordova,  another  general,  several  colonels,  and 
three  priests  (October  23).  Two  hundred  Cholos  or  Indian  half- 
breeds  were  murdered  in  the  streets. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  usurpers  could  not  agree  upon  the  di- 
vision of  the  presidential  spoils,  and  disorder  reached  such  a  height 


B  O  L  I  V  I  A  189 

1S61-18G6 

In  this  year  (1861)  that  in  ChiH  and  Tern  the  partition  of  Bohvia 
was  openly  discussed.  At  last,  in  ]\hiy,  1862,  the  National  Con- 
vention elected  General  Acha  president.  Kuperto  Fernandez,  who 
was  thus  thrown  aside,  could  not  contain  his  resentment.  The  port- 
folio of  the  Interior  and  of  Justice  was  not  sufficient  to  satisfy  his 
ambition.  By  the  help  of  Colonel  Balza,  whose  regiment  was  in 
g-arrison  at  Oruro,  he  resolved  to  acquire  by  force  of  arms  the  title 
which  had  slipped  through  his  hands.  Balza  made  a  pronuncia- 
miento  in  favor  of  the  pretender,  marched  on  La  Paz  and  raised 
the  mob,  which  rushed  tumultuously  against  the  palace.  Yahez,  the 
author  of  the  horrors  of  October  23,  had  taken  refuge  there,  and, 
when  attacked  on  all  sides,  tried  to  escape  by  the  roof,  but  a  dis- 
charge of  firearms  killed  him  and  his  body  was  given  up  to  the 
populace  and  hacked  to  pieces.  The  president  arrived  with  superior 
forces  and  Fernandez  had  to  abandon  the  field  and  take  refuge  in 
Argentine  territory,  A  new  attempt  arranged  by  some  generals 
in  favor  of  Belzu,  who  had  taken  refuge  on  the  frontiers  of  Peru, 
failed  no  less  miserably,  and  General  Perez,  who  had  been  sent 
against  the  rebels,  proclaimed  himself  president  in  Chuquisaca,  but 
was  defeated  by  Acha  between  Oruro  and  La  Paz. 

While  these  events  were  taking  place  Linares  perished  miser- 
ably in  Valparaiso.  In  him  Bolivia  lost  a  man  of  good  intentions, 
W'ho  at  least  wished  to  deliver  his  country  from  militarism,  the 
plague  of  the  South  American  states.  About  the  same  time  the 
president,  Acha,  obtained  the  ratification  of  his  powers  in  an  elec- 
tion which  gave  him  a  considerable  majority.  He  brought  into  his 
administration  a  spirit  of  conciliation  and  enlightened  ideas,  en- 
deavoring to  reestablish  friendly  foreign  relations,  especially  with 
France,  which  had  had  no  dealings  with  Bolivia  for  ten  years  on 
account  of  the  wa-ongdoing  of  Belzu.  Santa  Cruz  was  accredited 
to  Paris  to  renew  diplomatic  relations.-^  Early  in  1861  the  repub- 
lic had  a  serious  controversy  with  Chili  over  the  territory  of 
Mejillones,  both  countries  claiming  its  rich  deposits  of  guano,  and 
the  Congress,  sitting  at  Oruzo,  authorized  the  president  to  declare 
war  if  pacific  measures  failed.  The  attitude  of  Bolivia  in  the 
Hispano-Chilian  conflict  brought  some  concessions  on  the  part  of 
Chili,  and  a  treaty  was  signed  on  August  10,  1866. 

3  Santa  Crnz  had  been  successively  appointed  minister  plenipotentiary  to 
London  (1849),  Paris,  Rome,  and  Brussels.  In  185 1  he  had  negotiated  a 
concord  with  Pius  IX.  In  1854  he  was  again  a  candidate  for  the  presidency 
but  was  defeated  by  Cordova.     He  died  at  Saint-Nazaire  in  1865. 


190  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1865-1173 

In  the  meanwhile  the  presidency  had  changed  hands.  Acha, 
constantly  attacked  by  the  partisans  of  Belzu,  had  been  wounded  in 
an  encounter  where  Belzu  commanded  in  person  (January,  1865). 
Some  days  later  Lieutenant-Colonel  Melgarejo  excited  his  soldiers 
to  rebellion  in  Cochabambu,  installed  himself  in  the  Government 
House  after  a  combat  of  twelve  hours  and  took  the  title  of  pro- 
visional president,  which  Belzu  wished  to  dispute  with  him.  But 
Belzu  was  attacked  by  Melgarejo  in  La  Paz  and  killed.  The  victor 
might  very  well  consider  himself  master  of  the  situation;  he  had 
already  formed  a  ministry  whose  first  acts  were  to  proclaim  a  gen- 
eral and  complete  amnesty  and  reduce  the  duties  on  the  exporta- 
tion of  the  copper  of  Corocoro,  a  measure  which  would  very  much 
favor  the  export  trade,  when  Colonel  Casto  Agueda  succeeded  in 
seizing  La  Paz  by  a  bold  stroke  (May  25).  An  indecisive  struggle 
followed.  In  July,  1865,  Melgarejo  had  made  himself  master  of 
the  most  important  provinces,  but  La  Paz  and  Cobija  defied  him 
until  the  sixth  of  the  month,  when  the  former  fell  into  his  hands. 
He  was  now  sure  of  future  victory,  convoked  the  citizens  in  order 
to  proceed  to  the  regular  election  of  a  president,  and  was  con- 
firmed as  head  of  the  republic  until  February,  1869.  Melgarejo 
had,  by  his  energetic  character,  risen  from  the  ranks  to  the  position 
of  general.  He  laid  it  down  as  his  system  of  government  to  firmly 
maintain  internal  tranquillity,  preserve  the  integrity  of  the  territory, 
draw  closer  the  relations  of  Bolivia  with  foreign  powers,  and  give 
an  impulse  to  industry  and  internal  commerce  by  liberal  legislation. 
He  was  more  fortunate  than  his  predecessors  and  maintained  him- 
self in  power;  but  the  country  continued  its  deplorable  habit  of 
political  disturbances.  A  constitution  drawn  up  in  August,  1868, 
was  abolished  in  1869,  when  the  term  of  office  of  ^Melgarejo  ex- 
pired. Another  constitution,  the  work  of  an  assembly  which  met 
in  Sucre,  was  promulgated  November  22,  1871. 

Colonel  Agustin  Morales,  who  was  raised  to  the  provisional 
presidency  for  a  year  on  June  20,  1871,  and  promoted  by  Congress 
to  be  general  of  division,  received  extensive  powers  from  the  cham- 
bers. These  he  used  to  raise  a  loan  for  the  construction  of  railways 
and  to  appoint  a  commission  to  provide  means  of  communication 
for  Bolivia.  Alorales  promised  besides  to  establish  telegraphs  and 
form  centers  of  colonization,  two  things  that  Bolivia  completely 
lacked.  He  had  just  been  proclaimed  constitutional  president  for 
four  years  by  the  legislature  assembled  at  La  Paz,  when  his  death, 


BOLIVIA  191 

1873-1876 

in  January,  1873,  put  an  end  to  his  projects.  One  railway,  the  onlv 
one  that  Bohvia  possesses,  was  finished;  the  rest  were  abandoned 
for  want  of  money,  Frias,  the  president  of  the  Congress,  occu- 
pied the  presidency  of  the  repubhc  for  a  short  time.  Balhvian  also 
died  just  after  he  had  been  elected  for  the  second  time.  He  had 
found  the  country  a  prey  to  the  rivalry  of  the  generals  who  com- 
peted in  arms  for  the  dictatorship,  and  was  replaced  by  Dr.  Tomas 
Frias,  February  14,  1874.  He  also  had  to  fight  against  insurrec- 
tionary bands  and  to  contend  with  extemporized  governments.  In 
January,  1875,  he  had  to  expel  from  La  Paz  a  "  Directory  "  which 
had  set  itself  up  there. 

But  we  are  impatient  to  leave  these  broils.  The  pen  tires  of 
writing  about  exploits  whose  heroes  are  the  everlasting  oftice- 
seekers,  in  which  the  vanquished  to-day  are  sure  to  be  the  victors 
to-morrow.  In  this  rapid  succession  of  governments  and  parties, 
men  and  ideas,  the  national  conscience  has  been  obscured  and  seems 
to  have  entirely  disappeared.  He  who  controls  the  army  wields  the 
national  power,  and  the  nation  counts  for  nothing.  The  caprice  of 
the  conqueror  is  the  only  law;  there  is  no  truth  other  than  force, 
and  no  justice  other  than  violence.  We  may  say  of  a  nation  in  this 
condition  that  its  honor,  peace,  and  fortune  '^  are  destroyed.  Let 
the  republic  relegate  the  unruly  generals  to  their  quarters  and  call 
the  civil  element  to  the  head  of  affairs.  It  alone  can  bring  in  an  era 
of  peace  and  industry,  the  two  indispensable  conditions  of  all  re- 
generation and  progress. 

4  The  budget  of  1873-1874  shows  receipts  of  $2,929,574  and  expenses  of 
$4,505,504,  a  deficit  of  $1,575,930.  Expenses  are  divided  as  follows :  Interior, 
$597,458;  foreign  affairs,  $153,940;  finances  (including  the  domestic  debt),  $2,- 
072,018;  justice  and  education,  $399,167;  war,  $1,126,916;  extraordinary  items, 
$155,019.  Comment  is  needless.  We  may  add  that  in  June,  1873,  the  pubh'c  debt 
(according  to  an  official  report)  amounted  to  $16,428,329. 


Chapter    XIII 

PERU.    1 825-1876 

ON  December  9,  1826,  the  anniversary  of  the  victory  of 
Ayacucho,  an  oath  was  taken  throughout  Peru  to  the 
constitution  which  the  Liberator  had  already  caused  to 
be  adopted  by  Bohvia.  Thus  the  two  peoples  received  the  same 
semi-monarchical  charter,  or  in  other  words,  were  subjected  to 
the  same  yoke.  A  like  fate  would  have  been  reserved  for  Colombia 
if  the  situation  had  not  developed  too  rapidly.  For  Lower  Peru,  as 
well  as  Upper  Peru,  Bolivar's  constitution  was  the  cause  of  serious 
difficulties.  The  Peruvians  saw  w^th  uneasiness  their  country  occu- 
pied by  a  numerous,  turbulent,  and  somewhat  undisciplined  army, 
whose  commander  seemed  to  act  as  if  he  were  dealing  with  a  con- 
quered people.  Bolivar  had  hardly  departed  when  the  explosion 
took  place.  His  hated  soldiers  were  expelled  in  March,  1827.  Gen- 
eral Santa  Cruz  governed  then  as  president  of  the  Supreme  Council ; 
a  provisional  Cabildo  (a  municipal  magistracy  suppressed  by  the 
new  constitution),  declaring  that  the  Bolivian  frame  of  government 
had  been  **  imposed  by  violence  against  the  will  of  the  people," 
petitioned  this  Council  to  convoke  "  a  Congress  of  the  legal  repre- 
sentatives of  the  nation  to  deliberate  on  what  it  might  be  most 
proper  to  do  under  the  circumstances.''  Elections  were  held,  and  in 
the  month  of  June  the  Congress  thus  elected  abolished  the  constitu- 
tion of  Bolivar,  appointing  General  La  Mar  president  of  the  repub- 
lic.    Santa  Cruz  had  insisted  that  his  resignation  be  accepted. 

The  new  government  had  not  only  to  resist  the  sharp  attacks 
of  the  Bolivarists,  but  also  to  make  head  against  the  efforts  of 
Sucre,  who.  from  Bolivia,  endeavored  to  reestablish  the  Colom- 
bian influence  in  Lima.  The  Peruvian  government  was  soon  mas- 
ter of  the  situation,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  go  to  the  aid  of  the 
I'olivians,  who  in  their  turn  endeavored  to  shake  off  the  yoke. 
P.olivar  published  a  manifesto  in  August,  1828,  to  which  La  Mar 
energetically  replied,  casting  all  the  blame,  and  especially  that  of 
aggression,  on  "  the  sworn  enemy  of  Peruvian  independence."    The 

192 


P  E  R  IT 


193 


1826-1830 

army  of  Peru  committed  the  error  of  invadinq-  the  Colombian  ter- 
ritory and  was  ahnost  entirely  destroyed  February  25,  1829,  at 
Tarqui,  in  the  province  of  Quito.  'J'he  Liberator  did  not  abuse  his 
victory;  he  consented  to  a  treaty  highly  honorable  to  the  concjuered, 
and  left  to  them  the  free  administration  of  their  affairs. 

La  Mar  paid  dear  for  his  defeat.     His  chief  of  staff,  Agustin 
Gamarra,  taking  advantage  of  the  discredit  into  which  he  had  fallen 


Peru 

%,^HOWING  RAILROADS 


through  so  serious  a  reverse,  came  to  an  understanding  with  an- 
other officer,  Lafuente,  to  oust  him  from  power.  The  former  seized 
the  unfortunate  president  and  put  him  aboard  a  ship  in  Piura,  while 
in  Lima  the  audacious  Lafuente  took  away  from  Salazar  y  Baqui- 
jano  the  power  that  he  exercised  provisionally  in  the  absence  of  the 
president,  declared  himself  supreme  head,  and  called  an  Assembly 
to  appoint  a  successor  to  La  Mar.  The  election  disappointed  the 
calculations  of  Lafuente,  since  it  only  conferred  the  vice-presidency 


194.  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1830-1833 

on  liim  and  the  chief  authority  fell  (1830)  into  the  hands  of 
Gamarra. 

This  man  was  a  reserved  and  astute  Zambo,  and  owed  his  rapid 
rise  to  his  wife,  a  beautiful  and  intrepid  Amazon,  who  had  guided 
him  from  the  lowest  to  the  most  brilliant  position.  Drawing-room 
triumphs  were  not  sufficient  for  Sefiora  Gamarra.  She  was  always 
on  horseback  among  the  soldiers,  inspiring  them  by  her  endurance  of 
fatigue  on  the  march  and  by  unflinching  self-exposure  to  the 
greatest  dangers  of  battle.  She  roused  enthusiasm  bordering  on 
delirium  when,  in  the  reviews  which  she  loved,  she  galloped  over 
the  field  of  maneuvers  sword  in  hand,  the  feathers  of  her  hat  float- 
ing in  the  wind. 

At  the  end  of  1831  Gamarra  made  two  proclamations,  one 
to  the  country  and  the  other  to  the  army,  congratulating  them 
on  the  reestablishment  of  friendly  relations  with  Bolivia,  and  also 
on  the  wished-for  termination  of  internal  disturbances,  which,  as 
he  said,  had  been  succeeded  by  order  and  concord.  But  that 
order  and  concord  were  not  to  be  very  lasting.  We  will  mention 
only  one  plot  formed  against  the  life  of  the  president.  Its  chief 
author  was  a  captain,  who,  on  March  18,  1832,  commanded  his 
soldiers  to  fire  upon  Gamarra  in  Lima,  but  they  refused  to  obey. 
The  captain  was  executed,  and  the  conspiracy  went  no  farther,  the 
year  ending  without  any  incident  worthy  of  mention.  The  term 
of  ofiice  of  the  president  was  about  to  expire ;  Gamarra  assembled 
a  Congress,  on  whose  good  will  he  reckoned  to  obtain  the  revision 
of  the  constitution  and  a  continuation  of  his  powers,  but  his  hopes 
were  not  realized.  He  had  been  raised  to  power  by  a  woman  and 
was  overthrown  by  women.  The  fair  sex  of  Lima  turned  the  elec- 
toral scales  in  favor  of  D.  Luis  Orbegoso,  a  young  and  restless  gen- 
tleman, a  descendant  of  one  of  the  first  families  of  the  city,  and 
belonging  to  the  white  race.  Gamarra,  indeed,  did  not  present  him- 
self ostensibly  as  a  candidate,  but  put  forward  General  Bermudez  in 
opposition  to  the  protege  of  the  ladies  and  of  the  upper  classes  of 
society,  behind  whom  he  thought  he  would  govern.  Seeing  that 
the  power  was  slipping  from  his  hands  when  he  used  legal  means, 
he  resolved  to  recover  it  by  violence.  In  January,  1833,  he  carried 
through  a  military  revolution  which  obliged  the  recently  elected 
president  to  take  refuge  in  Callao,  while  Bermudez  received  the  in- 
vestiture of  supreme  head  in  Lima.  A  short-lived  triumph!  The 
people  rose,  defeated  the  soldiers  of  Gamarra,  and  put  them  to 


PERU  195 

1833-1841 

flight,  Orbegoso  himself  pursued  them  and  gave  battle  near  Jauja. 
He  was  repulsed  and  owed  the  victory  which  he  at  last  won  to  the 
defection  of  Colonel  Echenique,  who  commanded  one  of  the  chief 
corps  of  the  insurgents. 

But  while  the  legal  president  was  returning  to  Lima  and 
Gamarra  sought  refuge  in  Bolivia,  a  third  claimant  appeared  in  the 
person  of  Lafuente,  of  whom  we  have  already  spoken.  He  had 
been  condemned  to  exile,  but  had  broken  the  terms  of  his  sentence 
and  hastened  from  Chili  to  seize  the  dictatorship.  On  January  i, 
1835,  the  garrison  of  Callao  rose  at  his  call;  but  the  troops  com- 
manded by  General  Salaberry  arrived  from  Lima  to  fight  him,  ten 
insurgents  were  shot,  and  Lafuente  escaped  and  reached  Valparaiso 
once  more,  Salaberry,  young,  daring,  rash  and  proud  of  his  victory, 
instantly  conceived  the  idea  of  profiting  by  it  on  his  own  account. 
Two  months  had  scarcely  elapsed  when  he  marched  on  the  capi- 
tal at  the  head  of  318  men.  At  his  approach  the  Vice-President 
Salazar  fled  precipitately,  followed  by  a  few  generals  and  about 
100  soldiers,  Orbegoso  was  then  traveling  through  the  provinces, 
and  Salaberry  took  possession  of  Lima  without  striking  a  blow.  He 
proclaimed  himself  supreme  head  and  prepared  to  resist  the  attacks 
of  the  "  ambulatory  government."  He  seized  all  authority,  and  set- 
ting aside  the  constitution  and  the  laws,  wrung  forced  contributions 
from  the  capitalists  and  the  principal  inhabitants.  His  recruiting 
officers  had  orders  to  enroll  all  who  fell  into  their  hands,  and 
everybody  sought  safety  in  flight  or  in  hiding.  All  communica- 
tion with  the  outside  world  was  suspended  and  the  roads  were  full 
of  robbers,  who  even  came  into  the  city  and  discharged  their  fire- 
arms against  the  windows  of  the  palace.  Orbegoso  had  been  able  to 
hold  the  city  of  Arequipa,  whence  he  implored  the  assistance  of 
Bolivia.  Santa  Cruz  crossed  the  frontier  at  the  head  of  an  army 
corps.  The  result  has  been  told;  we  have  related  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter  how  a  confederation  was  formed  between  Bolivia 
and  Peru  under  the  protectorate  of  Santa  Cruz,  as  well  as  how 
it  terminated  with  the  battle  of  Jungay,  which  was  won  by  the 
Chilian  army  January  20,  1839.  In  the  previous  year  this  same 
army,  commanded  by  General  Bulnes,  had  entered  Lima  and  placed 
the  authority  in  the  hands  of  Gamarra,  while  Orbegoso,  who  had 
continued  president  of  the  northern  Peruvian  state,  retired  from  the 
fortress  of  Callao,  refusing  to  recognize  that  dictatorship  imposed 
by  the  foreigner  or  to  join  it  in  order  to  fight  Santa  Cruz.    The  fall 


196  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1841-1842 

of  the  protector  left  Gamarra  in  tranquil  possession  of  the  presi- 
dency of  Peru,  and  the  repubhc  enjoyed  some  degree  of  tranquillity 
until  1 84 1. 

At  that  date  a  revolution  took  place  in  Arequipa.  A  Colonel 
Vivanco  had  himself  proclaimed  under  the  title  of  regenerator,  and 
the  provinces  of  Cuzco  and  Puno  and  a  part  of  the  army  supported 
him.  Gamarra  sent  against  him  General  Castilla,  who  defeated  him 
and  drove  him  into  Bolivia,  where  at  the  moment  regenerators 
abounded.  Gamarra  feared  a  counter  attack  from  Santa  Cruz  and 
suddenly  invaded  Bolivia,  intending  to  give  the  last  blow  to  the 
partisans  of  the  protector.  We  already  know  that  he  was  killed  a 
few  leagues  from  La  Paz,  November  18,  1841.  The  Bolivians  in 
their  turn  entered  Peru,  and  after  some  negotiations  a  treaty  was 
arranged  and  peace  was  signed,  June  7,  1842,  between  the  two  coun- 
tries, through  the  mediation  and  under  the  guarantee  of  Chili. 

Now  Lafuente  appears  again.  He  had  been  placed  at  the  head 
of  the  army  of  the  South,  and  San  Roman,  who  commanded  a 
division  under  him,  separated  from  him  and  accused  him  of  aspir- 
ing to  the  dictatorship.  The  two  generals  came  to  blows,  and  in  this 
conflict  Manuel  Menendez,  President  of  the  Council  of  State,  who 
carried  on  the  government  during  the  vacancy  in  the  presidency, 
declared  Lafuente  a  rebel  and  a  traitor  to  the  country,  collected 
the  forces  which  were  scattered  over  the  country  and  which  had 
remained  faithful,  and  put  General  Torrico  at  their  head.  The 
first  act  of  Juan  Crisostomo  Torrico  was  to  depose  Menendez  and 
proclaim  himself  dictator  by  a  decree  dated  at  Lima  on  August  16, 
1842,  beginning  in  this  style:  "  I  decree:  Article  L  I  take  upon 
myself  the  executive  authority  of  the  republic  until  the  civil  war, 
excited  by  General  Antonio  Gutierrez  de  Lafuente,  shall  be  ended, 
and  the  national  representatives  convoked."     .     .     . 

Another  pretender  got  the  start  of  him,  nevertheless.  Very 
soon  the  news  arrived  in  Lima  that,  on  July  29,  General  Vidal 
had  proclaimed  himself  supreme  head  in  Cuzco  by  a  decree  no  less 
alluring  than  that  of  his  competitor,  and  that  he  had  been  supported 
in  Are(|uipa  by  Vivanco,  whom  we  see  reappear  in  command  of  this 
province  with  the  rank  of  general.  Vidal,  to  be  sure,  was  not  acting 
on  his  own  account ;  the  restless  Lafuente  was  concealed  behind  him, 
keeping  up  appearances  of  legality  and  of  attaining  to  power  only 
by  means  of  an  election  which  he  expected  to  control  at  pleasure. 
Under  these  circumstances  Orbegoso,   who   had  taken   refuge  in 


P  E  R  U  197 

1842 

Ecuador,  sent  a  certain  Colonel  Hercelles  to  revolutionize  the  prov- 
ince of  Paita,  but  Hercelles  entered  into  communication  with  Colonel 
Arrieta,  who  was  sent  against  him,  and  the  attempt  failed.  Then  it 
was  that  Vidal  and  Torrico  met  in  Agua  Santa ;  the  latter  had  to 
beat  a  retreat,  and  the  former,  after  defeating  him,  made  his  entry 
into  Lima. 

The  saying  that  the  Tarpeian  Rock  is  close  to  the  Capitol  is 
the  sober  truth  about  Peru  and  its  presidents  during  this  strange 
period.  Vivanco  has  not  renounced  his  old  ambition ;  he  had 
never  submitted  to  Vidal,  and  he  accepted  the  command  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Arequipa  from  Lafuente  only  to  play  a  secret  game  and  to 
remain  near  his  partisans.  Vivanco,  like  Gamarra,  had  an  ambitious 
and  resolute  wdfe.  One  night,  while  all  the  city  w-as  sleeping.  Dona 
Cipriana  Latorre  de  Vivanco  mounted  a  horse  and  with  no  weapons 
but  youth  and  beauty,  rode  hurriedly  to  the  quarters  of  two  regi- 
ments encamped  a  few^  leagues  from  Arequipa.  Their  colonels 
were  fascinated  by  her  beauty  and  daring  and  by  her  ardent  words 
and  extraordinary  action.  They  fell  at  her  feet,  declared  them- 
selves ready  to  follow-  her,  and  swore  to  die  for  her.  The  assembly 
is  sounded ;  the  soldiers  rush  together,  surround  her,  and  acclaim 
her.  Firm  and  upright  in  the  stirrups,  she  addresses  them  by  the 
light  of  torches;  hurrahs  drown  her  voice;  oaths  of  fidelity  and 
shouts  of  enthusiasm  fill  the  air.  She  starts  her  horse,  the  detach- 
ment moves  forward  and  w^ill  follow-  the  enchantress  to  the  world's 
end.  The  authorities  in  Arequipa.  wdio  were  peacefully  sleeping, 
w^ere  seized  in  their  beds  and  guarded  by  sentinels,  and  then,  amid 
the  loud  ringing  of  bells,  the  irresistible  lady  had  Vivanco  pro- 
claimed by  the  troops  and  the  notables  of  the  city  assembled  in 
the  great  square.  Vivanco,  who  was  at  Cuzco,  received  the  news 
of  his  romantic  proclamation  by  a  messenger.  He  took  the  title 
of  supreme  director  and  set  out  for  Lima.  Vidal  decided  to  yield, 
and  left  his  post  quietly.  Peru  had  registered  one  more  revolution 
in  her  annals. 

Ardent  Lima  received  the  president  who  had  fallen  to  it  by 
such  an  extraordinary  adventure  with  joyous  feasting  and  noisy 
demonstrations.  Chimes,  the  blare  of  trumpets,  and  salvos  of  artil- 
lery saluted  the  husband  of  Dona  Cipriana,  an  elegant  young 
man  of  distinguished  manners,  wdio  personified  the  civilization 
of  his  country  in  its  most  agreeable  qualities.  Bullfights,  gay  cav- 
alcades and  processions  reappeared  in  the  city  of  the  sun  and  of 


198  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1842-1844 

flowers,  and  poets  took  up  their  pipes  to  celebrate  the  event.  Dona 
Cipriana  turned  the  heads  of  all  the  men,  and  the  women  and  the 
mob  were  in  love  with  the  brilliant  Vivanco.  Under  these  circum- 
stances the  supreme  director  thought  he  could  seize  the  dictatorship 
with  impunity,  and  in  consequence  he  put  off  for  a  year  the  meeting 
of  Congress,  disbanded  the  numerous  and  useless  staff  of  the  anny, 
dismissed  dishonest  officials,  and  publicly  reproved  a  venal  and  cor- 
rupt magistracy.  Useful  reforms  were  in  the  way  of  being  carried 
out  when  a  conspiracy,  whose  chief  instigator  was  the  inevitable 
Lafuente,  forced  the  adoption  of  violent  and  reactionary  measures. 
Some  honored  and  influential  party  leaders  were  exiled,  among  them 
Castilla,  Minister  of  War  in  the  time  of  Gamarra,  and  his  chief  of 
staff  at  Yngavi.  Castilla  hastened  to  the  south,  raising  it  in  the 
name  of  constitutional  principles,  and  marched  on  the  capital.  Lima, 
which  idolized  the  magnificent  Vivanco  and  the  seductive  Cipriana 
more  than  ever,  armed  itself  for  resistance  in  the  midst  of  the  wild- 
est manifestations.  All  the  citizens  enlisted.  Castilla  halted  and 
awaited  reinforcements.  Vivanco  sent  off  a  division  which  allowed 
itself  to  be  surprised;  he  himself  took  the  field,  and  several  months 
passed,  during  which  the  tw-o  armies  sought  each  other  without 
meeting,  and  the  crisis  threatened  to  become  chronic  when  an  un- 
foreseen event  gave  it  a  new  turn.  Everything  is  unexpected  in 
those  countries  born  only  yesterday  into  the  world  of  politics.  The 
prefect  of  Lima  at  this  time  was  D.  Domingo  Elias,  a  man  of  influ- 
ence by  his  social  position  and  his  wealth.  He  quietly  laid  his  hand 
on  the  power  while  Vivanco  and  Castilla  played  at  hide  and  seek  in 
the  plains  and  the  mountains  of  the  south.  One  fine  morning  (June 
17,  1844)  Jie  marched  to  the  palace,  escorted  by  some  thirty  soldiers, 
and  by  a  pronunciamiento  declared  himself  president  of  the  republic. 
The  drums  beat  in  his  honor  and  the  revolution  was  over. 

This  coup  d'etat,  carried  through  almost  without  attracting  the 
attention  of  Lima,  resulted  in  the  return  of  Castilla  to  power  after 
a  year  of  civil  strife.  Don  Ramon  Castilla,  a  native  of  Javacapa,  on 
the  frontiers  of  Bolivia,  was  at  that  time  forty-eight  years  old.  He 
was  a  captain  in  the  Spanish  army  when  the  War  of  Independence 
broke  out,  but  embraced  the  cause  of  the  patriots  and  fought  at 
Ayacucho.  About  1830  he  entered  politics  and  was  always  openly 
in  favor  of  the  power  that  offered  the  best  conditions  of  stability. 
He  long  remained  faithful  to  Orbegoso,  who  had  appointed  him 
general  of  brigade;  then  he  joined  Salaberry  when  the  latter  put 


PERU  199 

1844- 1S52  *'*' 

rem  into  the  hands  of  Santa  Cruz,  and,  after  taking  part  in  the 
unfortunate  combats  of  Yanacocha  and  Socoboya,  he  took  refuge  in 
ChiH  (1835).  When  this  countrj^  took  up  arms  against  Santa  Cruz 
Castilla  took  the  command  of  the  cavalry  and  was  present  at  the 
battle  of  Jungay.  He  was  forced  to  go  into  exile  a  second  time 
after  the  defeat  and  death  of  Gamarra,  and  attempted  to  rally  all 
the  opponents  of  the  usurper  round  the  constitution,  which  was 
openly  despised.  With  the  aid  of  Generals  Nioto  and  Yguain,  he 
defeated  Vivanco  near  Arequipa  and  entered  Lima,  where,  in  order 
to  keep  up  the  appearance  of  legality,  Menendez,  provisional  presi- 
dent by  right,  after  the  death  of  Gamarra,  again  took  the  conduct 
of  business  while  awaiting  the  elections.  As  might  be  expected, 
they  resulted  in  calling  the  victorious  Castilla  to  power  (August 
19,  1845). 

Under  his  administration  Peru  was  peaceful ;  order  was  reestab- 
lished in  the  public  finances ;  the  standing  army  was  reduced,  its  or- 
ganization modified,  and  impressment  replaced  by  conscription. 
There  was  some  increase  in  the  navy,  and  the  construction  of  steam 
vessels  gave  excellent  results.  The  establishment  of  the  cannon 
foundry  of  Bellavista  dates  from  this  period.  The  different 
branches  of  national  industry  and  commerce  engaged  the  attention 
of  the  government,  which,  by  the  exploitation  of  the  guano  de- 
posits, opened  hitherto  unknown  sources  of  general  prosperity; 
and  finally  the  first  railway  was  opened  between  the  capital  and 
Callao. 

On  March  20,  185 1,  Castilla  gave  an  account  of  the  condition 
of  the  republic  to  Congress  and  resigned  his  authority  to  D.  Jose 
Rufino  Echenique,  who  had  been  elected  to  succeed  him.  This  was 
the  first  time  that  the  supreme  power  had  changed  hands  without 
disturbance  or  revolution.  General  Echenique  pronounced  in  favor 
of  a  reduction  of  customs  duties  and  invited  European  emigrants. 
He  had  to  oppose  an  insurrection  which  was  attempted  by  the  ex- 
dictator  Vivanco  and  General  San  Roman,  but  public  opinion  was 
against  him  when  he  favored  the  enlistments  that  Flores,  the  ex- 
president  of  Ecuador,  made  in  Peru,  and  for  this  reason  had  to  dis- 
miss the  ministry.  In  1852  a  controversy  arose  between  the  United 
States  and  Peru  respecting  the  possession  of  the  Lobos  Islands, 
which  are  very  rich  in  guano;  this  was  terminated  through  the 
mediation  of  France  and  England,  who  decided  against  the  claims 
of  the  government  at  Washington. 


200  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1852-1860 

In  the  meanwhile  the  pohcy  ot  the  new  president  appeared 
to  threaten  the  country  with  a  counter  revolution.  Castilla  issued 
a  new  call  to  arms,  and  marched  against  Eclienique  at  the  head  of 
a  numerous  party,  and  the  latter,  deserted  by  the  troops,  had  scarcely 
time  to  return  to  Lima  and  put  himself  under  the  protection 
of  the  English  fiag  (January  5,  1855).  At  the  same  time  his 
rival  was  proclaimed  by  the  mob.  The  elections  of  1858  restored 
Castilla,  called  the  "  Grand  Marshal,"  to  the  presidency  of  the 
republic.  A  conflict  soon  arose  between  him  and  the  Congress 
elected  to  revise  the  constitution.  He  dissolved  it  under  the  pretext 
that  it  wasted  its  time  and  went  beyond  its  rights  in  fixing  the  time 
for  its  reassembling.  The  fact  is  that  the  Congress  had  intended  to 
depose  him  because  he  showed  sinister  and  despotic  instincts  in  his 
government,  both  in  domestic  and  foreign  affairs.  New  elections 
were  held  on  December  10,  1859,  and  Castilla  met  the  new  Assembly 
with  the  firm  intention  of  taking  advice  only  from  his  ow'n  will. 
His  well-known  projects  of  conquest  and  annexation  had  gained 
him  a  popularity  that  he  hoped  to  make  use  of  if  necessary.  About 
this  time  Castilla  attempted  to  dismember  the  republic  of  Ecuador 
and  to  annex  that  of  Bolivia,  taking  advantage  of  the  dissensions 
that  he  had  himself  helped  to  create  in  those  two  countries.  The  ap- 
l)earance  in  March,  i860,  of  a  French  vessel  in  the  bay  of  Callao  to 
demand  reparation  and  satisfaction  for  injuries  to  French  subjects 
overthrew  his  hopes,  and  lessened  his  military  prestige.  He  could 
only  make  empty  threats  and  for  consolation  vainly  protest  against 
the  annexation  of  San  Domingo  by  Spain. 

At  last,  on  November  10,  i860,  the  constitution  w^as  proclaimed 
which  modified  the  compact  of  1858.  It  distributed  the  powers  of 
the  state  among  three  separate  and  independent  bodies :  the  execu- 
tive, the  legislative  (a  senate  of  44  members  and  a  house  of  no 
representatives),  and  the  judicial.  The  presidential  term  remained 
fixed  at  four  years.  A  few  weeks  before  the  grand  marshal  had 
been  fired  upon  and  w^ounded  in  the  arm.  This  attempt,  in  which 
150  men  of  a  single  regiment  had  been  associated,  led  to  certain 
rigorous  measures  affecting  Echnique,  Rivas,  and  some  other 
prominent  persons. 

When  the  deplorable  intervention  of  the  French  in  Mexico 
took  place,  which  the  minister  Rouher  insolently  called  "  the  finest 
thought  of  the  reign,"  and  which  was  one  of  the  most  shameful 
deeds  of  the  imjicrial  rcf^iwe  m  France,  Castilla  launched  a  violent 


PERU  201 

1850-1863 

manifesto  against  the  government  that  set  out  to  destroy  a  repubhc 
in  the  New  World,  and  offered  assistance  in  arms  and  money  to 
Juarez.  It  is  said  that  Frenchmen  residing  in  Peru  were  insulted 
at  the  instigation  of  the  president. 

Castilla  transmitted  the  supreme  authority  to  General  Miguel 
San  Roman,  who  was  elected  in  June,  1862.  The  electoral  cam- 
paign had  been  very  lively  and  resulted  in  the  victory  of  the  govern- 
ment candidate  and  the  defeat  of  the  Opposition  represented  by 
Echnique,  whom  the  courts  had  set  at  liberty,  General  La  Mar, 
and  Lopez  Lavalle.  Castilla,  who  had  been  suspected  of  the  inten- 
tion of  retaining  power  for  himself  indefinitely,  quietly  retired  into 
private  life.  About  this  time  died  Manuel  La  Mar,  leader  of  the 
Opposition.  San  Roman,  who  was  then  about  sixty  years  old,  and 
an  honorable  man  of  good  intentions,  took  the  presidency  without 
any  cloud  on  the  title,  and  found  the  country  peaceful  and  enter- 
ing fully  on  the  path  of  economical  and  material  prosperity.  Under 
his  leadership  the  Congress  set  apart  $2,000,000  for  public  works 
and  made  a  law  to  promote  the  immigration  of  Asiatics.  His 
predecessor  had,  nevertheless,  left  the  republic  involved  in  a  certain 
number  of  international  controversies,  partly  due  to  his  domi- 
nating and  quarrelsome  character.  Relations  with  France  and 
England  had  become  strained,  and  Peru  was  on  the  point  of 
breaking  with  the  republic  of  Bolivia,  and  also  wnth  Ecuador,  whose 
president  was  considered  a  traitor  to  Am.erica  because  of  his  ideas 
in  favor  of  a  European  protectorate.  San  Roman,  fearing  some 
domestic  attack,  exaggerated  the  danger,  which  he  believed  immi- 
nent, and  on  January  2,  1863,  asked  Congress  to  invest  him  with 
extraordinary  powers.  This  meant  the  dictatorship,  and  Congress 
would  not  accede  to  his  demands.  San  Roman  gave  way  and  made 
every  effort  to  appease  and  conciliate  and  to  unite  all  minds  in 
behalf  of  the  public  good.  His  programme,  contained  in  his  mes- 
sage of  February  3,  promised  an  economical  and  effective  admin- 
istration, but  he  died  on  April  3  after  a  long  illness,  leaving  such 
remembrances  of  his  probity  that  Congress  voted  his  family  a  gift 
of  $100,000. 

General  Juan  Antonio  Pezet,  the  first  vice-president  elected 
under  the  constitution,  was  at  that  time  traveling  in  Europe.  Gen- 
eral Canseco,  the  second  vice-president,  undertook  the  government 
until  his  return,  and  Castilla  the  command  of  the  army.  The 
policy  of  the  government  was  not  changed.     Pezet  reached  Lima 


202  SOUTH    AMERICA 

1863-1864 

at  the  beginning  of  August,  and  from  the  first  moment  appeared  very 
zealous  for  material  interests,  showing  in  his  addresses  that  he  ear- 
nestly desired  peace  both  at  home  and  abroad.  He  had  lived  a  long 
time  in  France,  and  there  had  made  himself  acquainted  with  the 
progress  of  public  administration.  He  undertook  to  make  the  gov- 
ernment of  his  country  benefit  by  his  information.  The  difficulties 
with  Ecuador,  Bolivia,  and  the  United  States  had  been  smoothed 
over;  and  a  more  serious  dispute  with  Brazil  with  respect  to  the 
Brazilian  navigation  of  the  River  Amazon  had  been  peacefully  set- 
tled, when  another  question  arose  in  which  France  interv^ened.  It 
was  a  question  of  putting  a  stop  to  a  poorly  disguised  slave  trade,  or 
to  speak  plainly,  of  protecting  certain  unhappy  Polynesians  who 
were  captured  by  trickery  and  treated  with  revolting  cruelty.  Once 
more  a  peaceful  agreement  was  obtained.  In  this  affair  also  a 
good  understanding  was  reached,  and  the  government  of  Peru,  to 
its  honor,  cleansed  itself  from  all  complicity  in  this  shameful 
traffic. 

Another  cause  of  difficulty  with  France  was  the  unfortunate 
war  with  Mexico,  which,  coinciding  with  the  recovery  of  San 
Domingo  by  Spain,  was  looked  upon  as  a  threat  against  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  New  World.  Public  excitement  reached  an  extreme 
point  and  showed  itself  by  manifestations  hostile  to  European  action 
and  in  subscriptions  in  aid  of  the  wounded  Mexican  patriots.  Pezet 
abstained  from  any  act  of  interference  or  provocation,  but  did  not 
remain  indifferent  to  this  attempt  at  repression.  He  then  took  the 
first  step  in  a  proposition  to  unite  all  the  American  republics  in  a 
congress,  by  which  a  defensive  alliance  might  be  formed  against 
every  enterprise  that  menaced  their  liberty.  The  proposition  of 
a  peace  congress  was  made  when  the  greater  number  of  the  na- 
tions who  should  meet  in  it  were  at  war  among  themselves.  Peru 
Itself  was  about  to  be  involved  in  serious  complications  on  account 
of  the  sudden  occupation  of  the  Chincha  Islands  by  the  Spanish 
squadron,  and,  as  a  consequence,  this  idea  had  no  better  success  in 
South  America  than  it  has  met  with  in  Europe  whenever  some  gen- 
erous men  have  tried  to  bring  it  forward  without  being  able  to  get 
a  hearing.  ^  Nevertheless,  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  rulers  of 
Peru  at  this  time  made  every  effort  to  establish  a  good  under- 
standmg  with  the  neighboring  states  as  well  as  with  those  of 
Europe,  to  calm  men's  minds  at  home  and  to  direct  the  efforts  of 
the  country  toward  agricultural  and  industrial  production. 


PERU  20f3 

1864 

From  this  period  dates  the  estabhsliment  of  a  school  of  arts 
and  trades  in  Lima,  of  a  breakwater  and  jetty  at  Callao,  and 
various  concessions  for  railways  planned  to  place  the  ports  of  the 
Pacific  in  connection  with  the  mines  and  the  regions  still  unexplored 
of  the  interior.  At  this  time  guano  became  one  of  the  chief  re- 
sources of  the  treasury,  causing  a  remarkable  increase  in  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  customs  duties.  Nevertheless  the  public  finances  con- 
tinued in  a  bad  state  owing  to  the  increase  it  was  necessary  to  make 
in  the  military  forces,  which  circumstances  rendered  more  and  more 
necessary.  The  law  of  February  14,  1853,  had  established  the  deci- 
mal system,  and  in  consequence  the  country  was  free  from  a  great 
handicap  in  monetary  affairs. 

Such  was  the  position  of  Peru  when  the  sudden  and  violent 
seizure  of  the  Chincha  Islands  by  the  Spanish  Pacific  squadron, 
April  14,  1864,  involved  it  again  in  complications.  That  act  of  un- 
qualified robbery,  carried  out  by  the  "  Extraordinary  Special  Com- 
missary of  Her  Catholic  Majesty,"  D.  Eusebio  Salazar  y  Mazar- 
redo,  with  the  assistance  of  Admiral  Pinzon,  was  so  much  the  more 
serious  as  Spain  had  always  refused  to  recognize  the  independence 
of  Peru.  The  very  title  of  "  commissary,"  conferred  on  the  agent 
of  the  queen,  appeared  to  signify  that  Peru  was  still  a  Spanish 
colony,  and  the  seizing  a  part  of  its  territory  took  the  character  of 
a  claim  upon  the  whole.  The  position  of  the  Minister  of  Foreign 
Afifairs,  Ribeyro,  was  firm  and  dignified,  "  The  declaration  which 
you  have  been  pleased  to  send  me,"  he  wrote  to  Admiral  Pinzon, 
"  will  be  deposited  in  the  archives  of  this  ministry  as  a  testimony 
of  the  insult  offered  to  the  republic,  as  a  document  destined  to  stim- 
ulate in  the  government  and  in  the  heart  of  every  Peruvian  who 
shall  read  it  the  sentiments  of  national  pride  which  have  been  so 
impudently  wounded.  It  would  be  unworthy  of  the  government 
of  Peru  to  discuss  the  assertions  made  in  the  said  document  as  long 
as  he  who  wrote  it  holds  possession  of  a  part  of  the  national 
territory. 

"  Whatever  3'-our  conduct  may  be  now  or  in  future,  you  may 
be  assured  that  the  Spaniards  residing  in  Peru  will  continue  to  enjoy 
the  most  complete  security  in  their  persons  as  long  as  they  continue 
attending  to  their  affairs  peaceably  and  honorably. 

"  Peru  has  progressed  too  far  in  civilization  since  she  declared 
herself  independent  of  the  mother  country  to  need  to  take  hostages 
from  her  as  security.     It  is  you  who  have  revived  in  modern  war- 


5204  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1864-1865 

fare  the  customs  of  the  barbarous  ages,  unworthy  of  the  high  offi- 
cer of  a  nation  that  boasts  of  being  civihzed." 

The  Mcrcurio,  a  journal  pubhshed  in  Lima,  thus  expressed  the 
I)u])h"c  opinion  of  Peru :  "  The  government  and  people  of  Peru  burn 
to  avenge  the  insult  committed  against  the  nation.  Never  has  such 
enthusiasm  been  seen  in  all  classes  of  society.  The  various  minis- 
tries, learned  bodies,  colleges,  societies,  and  business  organizations 
have  offered  life  and  property  to  the  government  for  the  defense  of 
the  country.  The  municipalities  and  the  representatives  of  judicial 
power  have  protested  against  the  crime  committed  by  the  Spanish 
flotilla.  The  clergy  also  have  given  remarkable  proofs  of  patriot- 
ism upon  this  solemn  occasion,  and  the  head  of  the  Peruvian 
Church,  the  Archbishop  of  Lima,  with  his  chapter,  have  condemned 
that  unjust  occupation,  offering  their  physical  and  moral  coopera- 
tion with  the  greatest  self-denial,  not  excepting  any  kind  of  sacrifice, 
until  Peru  should  obtain  complete  satisfaction.  The  rectors  of 
various  parishes  in  Lima  and  the  neighboring  towns  have  shown 
no  less  patriotism  and  indignation." 

The  government  of  the  republic  had  from  the  first  moment 
taken  all  necessary'  means  for  the  defense  of  Peru  and  for  the  asser- 
tion of  its  rights.  Congress  authorized  the  president  to  borrow 
$50,000,000  in  order  to  increase  the  army  by  20,000  men  and 
the  fleet  by  twenty  vessels  of  war.  In  England  and  France  the 
press  was  unanimous  in  censuring  such  an  abuse  of  strength  com- 
mitted by  a  European  nation.  The  whole  of  America  was  indignant 
on  learning  the  fact,  and  especially  Chili,  in  which  republic  the  mob 
made  several  manifestations  hostile  to  Spain.  Before  such  a  strong 
expression  of  public  opinion  the  Spanish  government  no  doubt 
hesitated :  and  the  fact  that  Pinzon  was  replaced  by  Pareja  in  the 
command  of  the  squadron  of  occupation,  together  with  the  modera- 
tion from  which  the  government  of  Peru  never  departed  in  these 
difficult  circumstances,  led  to  a  solution  of  that  extraordinary  con- 
flict without  effusion  of  blood,  and  the  preliminaries  of  peace  were 
signed  January  28,  1865,  on  board  the  frigate  Villa  de  Madrid, 
which  was  anchored  in  the  roads  of  Callao. 

Nevertheless  the  president  was  accused  of  weakness  on  all 
sides.  A  riot  occurred  on  May  25  at  the  gates  of  his  palace,  and  by 
the  advice  of  Castilla  squadrons  of  cavalry  dispersed  the  mob, 
which  was  howling  for  war:  but  the  grand  marshal  himself  was  not 
long  m  joining  the  party  which  desired  an  armed  conflict.     He  was 


PERU  205 

1865 

elected  president  of  the  Senate  July  26,  and  his  warlike  ardor  was 
displayed  with  all  its  force.  lie  questioned  Pezet  with  threat  energy, 
demanded  that  the  government  take  the  initiative  in  forming-  an 
offensive  league  of  the  American  states  against  Spain,  and  begin 
hostilities  at  once.  Under  these  conditions  the  chamber  of  depu- 
ties, making  use  of  a  subterfuge  which  was  certainly  undignified, 
hastened  to  suspend  its  sittings  in  order  not  to  have  to  approve  the 
treaty  of  January  28,  which  General  Vivanco,  who  had  charge  of 
the  negotiations,  had  just  brought  to  Lima.  The  president  signed 
the  provisional  treaty,  as  was  prescribed  by  the  constitution,  subject 
to  ratification  at  the  next  session.  Unfortunately,  that  document, 
which  had  to  be  signed  in  view  of  the  scanty  means  of  defense 
that  Peru  relied  on,  became  a  weapon  in  the  hands  of  the  enemies 
of  the  government.  On  the  29th  cries  of  death  were  uttered  against 
the  Spaniards,  and  on  February  5  some  sailors  from  the  Span- 
ish squadron  were  attacked  in  Callao  and  one  of  them  was  killed. 
The  president  arrived  with  the  cavalry;  in  Lima  the  mob  thronged 
the  streets,  crying  "  Death  to  the  Spaniards !  "  and  while  the  troops 
were  repressing  the  tumult  and  blood  was  flowing  in  the  streets, 
Castilla  censured  the  president  in  violent  terms  for  signing  the 
treaty  with  Spain.  Castilla  was  arrested  in  open  session  and  carried 
on  board  a  war  brig  sailing  for  Para.  There  was  no  less  excite- 
ment in  the  provinces;  Colonel  Prado,  the  governor  of  Arequipa, 
proclaimed  himself  dictator  and  established  his  government  in 
Arica.  Puno,  Cuzco,  and  the  populous  intermediate  provinces  also 
organized  themselves  in  rebellion,  and  the  second  vice-president, 
Canseco,  escaped  from  the  capital  to  go  and  join  the  insurgents. 
On  May  7  the  troops  of  the  president  recovered  Arica.  In  Lima 
an  attempted  revolt  of  the  municipal  guard  which  was  on  duty  at 
the  palace  on  the  night  of  May  10  and  11  was  repressed;  but  on 
that  of  June  23  and  24  the  marines,  obeying  some  of  the  subaltern 
officers,  rose  in  revolt  in  the  port  of  Arica,  murdered  Rear-Admiral 
Janizo,  part  of  his  staff,  and  the  sub-prefect. 

President  Pezet,  remaining  faithful  to  his  policy,  received  the 
minister  plenipotentiary  of  Spain  on  August  5.  A  month  later 
Prado  had  notified  all  the  diplomatic  representatives  in  Lima  except 
the  Spanish  minister,  of  General  Canseco's  accession  to  power. 
These  events  coincided  with  the  blockade  of  the  Chilian  ports  by  the 
Spanish  squadron.  The  firmness  with  which  the  Valparaiso  gov- 
ernment accepted  the  struggle  made  the  weakness  with  which  Pezet 


206  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1t65 

had  been  so  much  reproached  appear  more  clearly,  and  he  was  even 
accused  of  selling  himself  to  Spain.  The  populace  became  enthusi- 
astic at  the  idea  of  aiding  Chili  in  a  conflict  born  of  the  sym- 
pathy she  had  shown  to  Peru.  The  army  of  revolt  marched  on 
the  capital,  led  by  the  same  idea,  and  Pezet  went  out  to  meet  it  with 
10,000  well-equipped  men  and  sixty  guns;  but  when,  on  November 
6,  he  arrived  in  sight  of  the  enemy,  his  generals  refused  to  obey  him, 
and  Canseco  entered  Lima  without  difficulty.  Pezet,  nevertheless, 
fought  on  with  a  handful  of  men,  commanded  by  Colonel  Gonzalez, 
disputing  the  streets  foot  by  foot,  shut  himself  up  in  the  palace, 
and  there  stood  a  siege  of  six  hours  against  more  than  12,000  men, 
with  whom  the  populace  of  the  slums  had  joined.  Prado  saved 
that  brave  officer  from  the  fury  of  the  insurgents  by  claiming  him 
as  his  personal  prisoner;  but  the  palace  was  taken.  Pezet  fled  to 
Callao,  where  he  took  refuge  on  board  an  English  corvette.  On 
the  7th  of  the  same  month  the  revolution  had  triumphed  every- 
where, and  Canseco,  without  claiming  any  other  authority  than  that 
of  second  president,  which  legally  belonged  to  him,  formed  his 
ministry.  A  decree  of  the  13th  impeached  the  fallen  president,  the 
ministers  and  public  officials,  denouncing  them  all  as  thieves  and 
assassins.  When  Pezet  was  demanded  for  extradition,  the  English 
minister  replied  that  he  was  on  the  way  to  Panama. 

Canseco  had  no  intention  of  breaking  off  relations  with  Spain, 
and  thus  it  was  that  he  entered  into  secret  negotiations  with 
the  representative  of  that  nation,  calculating  that  the  popular  excite- 
ment would  soon  subside.  He  did  not  wish  to  act  outside  the 
constitution  and  the  law,  nor  to  exercise  any  greater  power  than  that 
which  universal  suffrage  had  conferred  on  him,  which  shows  how 
much  political  habits  were  tending  to  change.  This  is  far  from 
saying  that  the  era  of  violent  dictatorships  had  terminated  forever. 
Canseco,  the  man  of  legitimate  measures,  very  soon  learned  that 
he  did  not  suit  the  interests  of  the  military  chiefs,  always  greedy, 
in  Peru  as  elsewhere,  of  immoderate  rewards  and  of  employments 
such  as  only  an  absolute  ruler  could  offer  them.  On  Novem- 
ber 25  they  deposed  Canseco  and  conferred  the  dictatorship  on 
Colonel  Prado.  The  populace  was  called  together  on  the  next  day 
in  the  great  square,  and  there  some  hundreds  of  persons  acclaimed 
the  colonel,  who  deemed  this  a  sufficient  ratification  of  his  appoint- 
ment and  accepted  "  the  burden  of  power."  The  edict  relating  to 
his  accession,  published  on  the  28th  with  great  pomp  and  a  parade 


PERU  207 

1865-1866 

under  arms  of  all  the  troops,  set  forth  that  he  only  accepted  the  dic- 
tatorship, "  indispensable  for  the  salvation  of  the  country,"  accord- 
ing to  the  formula  always  used  in  similar  cases,  because  Canseco 
had  refused  to  exercise  it.  Canseco  protested  in  vain  that  he  only 
yielded  to  force ;  the  military  bands,  salvos  of  artillery,  and  the  peals 
of  bells  drowned  his  voice.  Amid  all  this  uproar  a  reactionary 
movement  which  broke  out  in  lea,  a  town  of  12,000  inhabitants  62 
miles  distant  from  the  capital,  passed  unnoticed. 

The  new  government  declared  that  it  would  be  frankly  revolu- 
tionary: a  strange  abuse  of  words,  since  there  was  no  pretense  of 
consulting  the  will  of  the  people.  A  tribunal  was  created  to  try 
without  appeal  those  who  had  negotiated,  signed  or  executed  treaties 
or  conventions  contrary  to  the  national  honor.  The  Spanish  ques- 
tion, which  had  hurled  Pezet  and  Canseco  from  power,  continued  to 
be  the  great  difficulty  of  the  situation.  Nor  did  Prado  appear  de- 
sirous of  risking  a  rupture,  although,  on  the  other  hand,  he  feared 
the  unpopularity  which  had  made  his  predecessors  succumb.  He 
knew  that  the  revolution  which  had  raised  him  to  power  had  sprung 
chiefly  from  the  desire  of  resisting  the  demands  of  Spain,  and  eight- 
een days  had  passed  since  the  deed  of  November  25  w^ithout  the 
diplomatic  body  receiving  the  usual  notification;  but  all  hesitation 
disappeared  on  receipt  of  the  news  of  the  capture  of  a  Spanish  ship 
by  a  Chilian  corvette  and  the  suicide  of  Admiral  Pareja.  On  De- 
cember 13  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  addressed  the  expected 
circular  to  all  the  members  of  the  diplomatic  body  except  the  Spanish 
minister.  This  was  equivalent  to  considering  the  treaty  of  January 
28  as  void,  and  the  Spanish  representative  embarked  on  December 
21  with  all  the  members  of  the  legation.  i\t  the  end  of  the  same 
month  Peru  made  a  treaty  of  alliance,  offensive  and  defensive,  with 
Chili,  to  which  shortly  afterward  Bolivia  and  Ecuador  adhered,  and 
war  was  declared  against  Spain,  January  14,  1866.  On  March  21 
the  bombardment  of  Valparaiso  took  place.  On  May  2  eleven 
Spanish  ships  in  order  of  battle  opened  fire  on  the  batteries  of 
Callao.  The  attack  was  fruitless,  and  on  the  loth  the  badly  dam- 
aged squadron  was  forced  to  leave  the  harbor,  after  losing  some  300 
men.  It  is  true  that  the  Peruvians  counted  about  1000  slain,  and 
among  them  the  IMinister  of  War,  Jose  Galvez ;  but  it  was  neverthe- 
less a  success  for  the  republican  arms,  and  was  celebrated  with 
transports  of  patriotic  pride.  The  defenders  of  Callao  made  a 
triumphal  entry  into  Lima;  they  all  received  promotion,  and  the 


208  S  O  IT  T  H     A  M  E  R  I C  A 

1866-1867 

construction  of  a  fountain  was  decreed  in  commemoration  of  the 
victory. 

When  the  Spanish  war  was  ended  the  government  met  with 
difficuhies  at  home,  whicli  arose  from  the  modifications  it  had  intro- 
duced into  the  fiscal  and  administrative  S3^stem.  Canseco,  who  had 
been  expelled  from  the  presidency,  reckoned  on  the  popularity  of 
the  old  marshal,  Castilla,  his  brother-in-law,  for  reinstatement. 
A  decree  regulating  the  manner  of  ringing  the  church  bells 
and  the  manner  of  carrying  the  sacraments  in  public  excited  the 
clergy,  produced  a  certain  emotion  among  the  women,  and  caused 
a  sort  of  riot.  Religious  fanaticism  augmented  the  number  of 
those  who,  tired  of  the  dictatorship,  demanded  a  return  to  the 
regular  processes  of  the  constitution.  The  presence  of  Castilla  gave 
a  chief  to  the  malcontents,  and  at  the  same  time  that  a  mutiny 
in  the  squadron,  at  that  time  anchored  at  Valparaiso,  was  put 
down,  another  conspiracy  was  organized  in  the  provinces,  at 
the  head  of  which  was  Colonel  Balta,  late  head  of  the  Cabinet. 
The  dictator  decided  at  last  to  order  an  election  for  deputies  to  the 
Congress  which  was  to  draw  up  a  new  constitution  and  for  presi- 
dent. The  voting,  which  was  terminated  at  the  end  of  1866,  gave 
the  majority  to  Colonel  Prado.  Congress  w^as  opened  February  15, 
1867;  it  refused  to  sanction  the  new  personal  tax,  passed  a  vote  of 
censure  on  the  acts  of  the  dictator,  and  forbade  the  president  to  com- 
mence or  continue  any  negotiation  with  Spain  without  the  previous 
authorization  of  the  Chamber.  The  Cabinet  resigned  in  a  body. 
While  this  was  going  on  the  Indians  were  devastating  the  South  and 
Castilla  landed  a  force  and  declared  himself  against  Prado.  Are- 
quipa  rose  at  his  call,  and  Canseco  claimed  power  in  a  violent 
manifesto. 

The  sudden  death  of  Castilla  (May  30)  exposed  to  fatigues 
that  he  was  unable  to  bear  at  his  age,  gave  a  respite  to  the  president. 
The  old  marshal  was  the  most  popular  leader  in  Peru,  and  his  death 
was  generally  mourned.  The  fall  of  the  Alexican  Empire  was  an- 
other diversion,  and  was  received  with  enthusiasm;  a  medal  of 
honor  was  offered  to  Juarez,  and  Prado  approved  the  vote  of  the 
Chambers  which  expelled  from  the  schools  the  lay  brothers  who 
came  from  France,  and  the  French  Sisters  of  Charity  from  the 
hospitals.  After  much  hesitation  Congress  definitely  confirmed  the 
election  of  the  president,  and  adopted  a  new  constitution  (August 
3r,    1867)    which  fixed   the  presidential  term  at  five  years.     The 


PERU  ^209 

1867-1871 

Catholic  reH<^ion  was  the  only  one  rccog-iiized  hy  the  state,  and  the 
pubhc  exercise  of  any  other  form  of  worship  was  prohibited. 

The  position  of  the  executive  power  continued  to  be  very 
critical ;  the  treasury  was  exhausted,  distress  was  general,  and  dis- 
content was  more  evident  every  day.  In  September  Arequipa  rose 
once  more  for  Canseco.  The  first  riot  was  suppressed  after  a 
struggle  in  which  even  the  women  took  part ;  but  the  garrison  soon 
made  common  cause  w^ith  the  populace,  and  recognized  Canseco  as 
legal  president  of  the  republic.  The  garrison  of  Trujillo  rose  in 
October  and  killed  the  prefect ;  the  north  was  disturbed  by  the  in- 
surrection which  Colonel  Balta  organized ;  and  President  Prado, 
leaving  the  government  provisionally  with  General  La  Fuerta, 
marched  gainst  Arequipa.  In  his  absence  the  crisis  became  acute  in 
Lima,  and  the  representatives  of  foreign  powers  had  to  organize 
their  subjects  as  militia  to  maintain  order.  The  same  thing  hap- 
pened at  Callao.  On  December  27  Prado,  after  conciliatory  meas- 
ures failed,  assaulted  Arequipa.  The  fight,  which  was  sanguinary 
on  both  sides,  lasted  more  than  six  hours,  when  the  presidential 
troops  fled.  Prado,  who  succeeded  with  difficulty  in  rallying  800 
men,  returned  to  Callao  on  board  two  ships  of  his  squadron.  In  the 
north  also  the  insurrection  was  successful,  and  the  president, 
crushed  by  these  reverses,  opposed  by  a  hostile  Congress,  in  effect 
driven  out  of  Lima,  was  forced  to  resign.  His  fall  was  not  long 
delayed. 

The  constitution  of  i860  was  restored;  Balta  was  elected 
president  for  four  years  and  took  the  oath  on  May  i,  1868.  A  firm, 
although  a  hot-tempered  man,  he  displayed  great  activity  in  the 
development  of  public  works;  vigorously  pushed  on  the  construc- 
tion of  means  of  communication,  and  conceived  the  idea  of  financing 
railway  construction  by  pledging  the  guano  deposits.  The  waters 
of  the  interior  were  opened  to  ships  of  all  classes  and  all  countries, 
and  an  interesting  industrial  exhibition  was  held  in  Lima  in  July, 
1869.  Under  his  administration  Peru  remained  tranquil;  but  un- 
fortunately the  country  suffered  from  several  inundations  and  earth- 
quakes, and  a  terrible  epidemic  of  yellow  fever.  The  discovery  of 
the  gold  mines  of  Huacho,  in  October,  1871,  caused  great  excite- 
ment. The  end  of  the  president's  term  of  office  coincided  with  the 
election  of  a  new  Congress;  the  electoral  contest,  therefore,  was 
very  keen,  and  the  squadron  was  disarmed  as  a  measure  of  pre- 
caution.    Arequipa,  which  at  that  period  was  the  alarm  bell  of 


210  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1871-1874 

revolutions,  caused  some  uneasiness,  and  the  candidates  there  dis- 
cussed their  claims  with  arms  in  hand.  The  government  openly 
supported  Echenique ;  ]\Ianuel  Pardo  had  the  sympathy  of  the 
populace;  and  Ureta  also  had  many  partisans.  Balta  made  an  ap- 
peal to  the  electors,  and  requested  them,  in  consideration  of  the 
violence  of  the  contest,  to  give  their  votes  in  favor  of  Dr.  Antonio 
Arenas.  Echenique  retired,  and  agreed  to  support  the  new  can- 
didate; but  Pardo  and  Ureta  persisted  in  their  design,  and  the 
former,  a  sincere  Democrat,  gained  a  considerable  majority.  Balta, 
following  bad  advice,  declared  at  first  that  he  would  not  give  up  his 
post,  but  afterward,  seeing  that  he  could  not  resist  the  current  of 
public  opinion,  he  announced  that  he  was  ready  to  retire  on  August 
2,  the  day  on  which  his  term  expired.  The  man  who  had  most 
strongly  endeavored  to  induce  him  to  make  a  cotip  d'etat  was  Colo- 
nel Tomas  Gutierrez,  Alinister  of  War,  who,  seeing  that  Balta, 
respecting  legality,  consented  to  relinquish  power,  now  decided  to 
violate  the  constitution  on  his  own  account.  On  July  22,  1872,  he 
arrested  the  president,  pronounced  the  dissolution  of  the  Congress, 
which  immediately  declared  him  an  outlaw,  and  proclaimed  himself 
Supreme  Head.  Balta  attempted  to  escape  and  was  assassinated  in 
prison  by  Colonel  Marcelino  Gutierrez,  brother  of  the  usurper.  On 
receiving  news  of  this  crime  Lima  rose  in  arms,  and  on  the  26th  of 
the  month  the  lawful  authorities  were  reinstated  after  a  short  strug- 
gle. The  mob  killed  the  brothers  of  Gutierrez,  and  he  himself  was 
killed  while  attempting  to  escape  in  disguise  and  his  body  was 
hanged  on  a  lamp-post.  A  splendid  funeral  was  made  for  Balta ;  the 
vice-president,  Ceballos,  took  the  direction  of  affairs,  and  on  August 
2  Manuel  Pardo  was  proclaimed  by  Congress. 

The  civil  element  triumphed  in  the  person  of  the  new  head 
of  the  state.  His  message  indicated  this  in  the  plainest  terms, 
and  public  opinion  emphasized  and  applauded  his  words.  He  de- 
clared that  the  municipal  and  electoral  organization,  "  those  two 
corner-stones  of  the  constitutional  edifice,"  and  similar  questions 
imperatively  demanded  the  support  and  protection  of  the  legislators ; 
reform  of  the  army  should  follow  and  the  horrible  crime  of  impress- 
ment should  be  ended  by  a  just  conscription  law.  The  previous  ad- 
ministration maintained  a  considerable  number  of  ofiicers  and  func- 
tionaries who  lived  at  the  expense  of  the  Treasury.  Pardo,  a  man 
of  clear  intelligence  and  resolute  character,  thought  it  his  duty  to 
suppress  those  parasites  and  at  the  same  time  oppose  certain  finan- 


PERU  211 

1874-1876 

ciers  who  took  advantage  of  the  necessities  of  the  government  to 
fleece  and  ruin  it.  This  roused  much  enmity,  but  also  attracted 
many  supporters.  On  August  21,  1874,  a  captain  of  artillery,  who 
had  been  been  retired  on  half-pay,  attempted  to  assassinate  the 
president;  but  nevertheless  he  persisted  in  his  loyal  and  patriotic 
enterprise. 

Pardo  had  found  the  national  finances  pitifully  overburdened 
with  debt;  Balta  had  made  haste  too  quickly  and  had  been  carried 
away  beyond  prudence  by  the  railway  fever,  which  turned  all 
heads.  To  meet  pressing  needs  it  had  been  necessary  to  resort  to 
measures  which  were  sure  to  produce  a  permanent  annual  deficit; 
loans  had  been  multiplied;  the  pledging  of  the  guano  deposits  as 
security  for  the  foreign  debt  left  the  treasury  only  the  internal 
revenue,  which  was  notoriously  insufficient  to  meet  the  expenses  of 
the  state.  As  a  consequence  of  all  this  the  work  on  the  railways  was 
threatened  with  paralysis,  and  a  strike  of  20,000  workmen  was 
feared.  The  emission  of  a  new  loan  of  $184,000,000  overcame 
the  difficulty.  The  needs  of  the  administration  were  provided  for 
by  increased  receipts  under  a  new  tariff  and  by  the  profits  of  the 
monopoly  of  saltpeter.  Municipal  expenses  were  charged  upon  the 
communes,  which  were  granted  the  right  of  electing  their  own 
municipal  governments.  The  double  task  to  which  the  government 
bent  all  its  energies  was  to  insure  peace  at  home  and  to  reestablish 
its  credit  abroad.  Negotiations  were  set  on  foot  with  China  and 
Japan  in  order  to  guarantee  the  good  treatment  of  the  coolies  em- 
ployed in  agriculture  and  other  work.  China,  which  boasted  of  not 
having  known  slavery  except  in  the  most  remote  period  of  her  his- 
tory, was,  nevertheless,  in  some  sort  the  successor  of  the  great 
slave  market  of  Africa,  and  the  exportation  of  the  coolies,  as  it  was 
practiced  in  certain  ports,  almost  equalled  the  horrors  of  the  slave 
trade.  The  enrollment  of  these  unfortunate  men  was  not  much  more 
free  than  was  the  catching  of  the  negroes  of  the  Congo.  By 
force  or  fraud  they  are  made  to  contract  to  work  for  eight  years 
at  least  in  the  plantations  oversea  for  an  initial  wage  of  four  dol- 
lars, and  emancipated  slaves  would  nowhere  be  content  with  the 
highest  wages  ever  paid  to  the  coolies.  The  managers  of  this 
traffic  are  called  in  China  "  pig-dealers,"  and  the  cruelty  with  which 
the  Asiatic  laborers  were  treated  in  Peru,  Cuba,  and  other  places 
perfectly  justifies  the  insulting  name.^  Peru,  like  all  the  neighbor- 
ing republics,  should  make  a  constant  appeal  to  immigration.  Pardo 
1  L'Economiste  frangais,  November,   1875. 


212  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1876 

understood  this,  and  attracted  many  Chinese  colonists  to  Peru. 
They  are  laborious,  economical,  intelligent,  docile,  peaceful,  steady, 
and  fit  for  any  kind  of  work  in  the  hottest  climates.  Many  thou- 
sands of  laborers  from  the  Celestial  Empire  were  employed  in  the 
construction  of  railways  and  the  working  of  estates. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  will  be  understood  that  Peru,  since 
its  independence,  has  been  the  theater  of  many  adventures  and  dis- 
asters. It,  more  than  any  other  country,  has  produced  military 
chiefs,  plumed  heroes  who  appear  for  a  moment  on  the  stage,  shoot 
their  adversaries  and  are  shot  in  their  turn;  a  masquerade,  some- 
times grotesque  and  at  others  sinister,  where  all  the  types  of  the 
Spanish  repertory  meet,  and  where  the  chief  part  is  played  by  nose- 
slitting  bullies  and  swashbuckling  captains.  Confusion,  treachery, 
intrigue,  sword  thrusts — nothing  is  wanting  in  this  history  of  half 
a  century,  not  even  the  disguised  gentleman  and  the  veiled  lady  of 
the  old  comedies. 

But  how  can  we  doubt  of  the  future  of  this  magnificent  country 
which  is  bathed  on  the  west  throughout  its  whole  extent  of  1400 
miles  by  the  Pacific  Ocean?  Bounded  on  the  north  by  Ecuador, 
on  the  east  by  Brazil,  and  on  the  east  and  south  by  Bolivia,  Peru 
has,  according  to  the  latest  official  data,  a  territory  of  about  700,000 
square  miles  admirably  fitted  for  agricultural  production,  the  rais- 
ing of  stock,  and  for  navigation,  without  reckoning  the  inexhaust- 
ible mineral  riches  hidden  in  the  soil.  When  this  country,  so 
celebrated  for  the  memory  of  the  civilization  of  the  incas,  is  spoken 
of,  our  thoughts  dwell  first  upon  those  magical  mines  whose  sub- 
terranean galleries  hide  the  richest  treasures  of  the  world.  These 
mines,  which  for  three  centuries  loaded  the  adventurers  who  ar- 
rived from  Spain  with  gold,  are  far  from  being  exhausted ;  but  the 
Peruvians  at  the  present  time  neglect  mining  to  employ  themselves 
in  more  productive  and  less  fatiguing  labors.  Nevertheless,  very 
considerable  quantities  of  silver  are  still  extracted  from  the  Cerro  de 
Parso.  The  progress  of  industry,  the  new  scientific  processes, 
the  perfection  to  which  the  methods  of  exploitation  have  been 
carried,  will  multiply  a  hundredfold  the  already  fabulous  results 
obtained  in  the  past  with  less  perfect  agencies.  And  as  if 
nature  had  desired  to  heap  up  riches  on  Peru  she  has  placed  the 
auriferous  and  argentiferous  deposits  in  the  sterile  lands  and  in  the 
arid  tracts  of  sand  unfit  for  cultivation,  where  the  hand  of  man  is 
powerless  to  make  them  productive.  The  beds  of  the  rivers,  the 
depths  of  the  rocks  hide  gold  in  enormous  quantities;  the  flanks  of 


PERU  213 

1876 

the  Andes  are  rich  in  silver  and  yield  nuggets  of  the  pure  metal  of 
the  largest  size.  The  highest  valleys  abound  in  mercury,  and  the 
average  production  of  the  celebrated  mines  of  Huancavelica,  in  the 
department  of  Ayacucho,  was,  during  the  colonial  period,  more  than 
550,000  pounds  a  year.  We  might  also  mention  many  inexhaust- 
ible deposits  of  copper,  tin,  lead,  iron,  sulphur,  asphalt,  and  nickel. 
Saltpeter,  under  the  influence  of  certain  atmospheric  causes,  is  re- 
produced as  fast  as  it  is  collected.  Salt  abounds  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  sea,  at  the  bottom  of  some  lakes  and  of  certain  rivers. 
To  these  many  and  various  products  must  be  added  stone  for  build- 
ing and  sculpture,  brick  and  porcelain  clays,  borax,  asbestos,  etc. 

However  brilliant  this  picture  may  appear,  we  must  rank  it 
lower  than  that  which  the  vegetable  kingdom  offers.  Wheat,  rice, 
coffee,  and  sugar-cane  flourish  in  the  temperate  regions  of  the  moun- 
tains; excellent  wines  are  produced  in  Moquegua,  Pisco,  and  the 
province  of  Arequipa,  and  cacao  grows  abundantly  on  the  plains  of 
the  interior.  Cotton  produces  as  many  as  three  crops  a  year,  and 
flax  and  hemp  yield  their  seeds  for  medicine  and  their  fibers  for  in- 
dustry. Tobacco  of  superior  quality,  as  well  as  the  nutmeg,  ginger, 
pepper,  and  allspice,  abounds  in  all  the  mountainous  districts.  The 
forests  produce  valuable  woods  for  shipbuilding,  cabinet-work,  and 
dyeing,  and  a  multitude  of  plants  of  pharmaceutical  value,  such 
as  coca,  which  has  become  indispensable  to  the  laborers  of  the  Andes, 
but  whose  virtues  have  been  rather  exaggerated  in  Europe. 

But  what  has  enriched  Peru  much  more  than  its  once  boasted 
gold  mines  is  guano,  that  valuable  manure  which  the  sea-birds 
deposit  on  the  islands  near  the  coast,  whose  exploitation  has  been 
monopolized  by  that  state  since  1842.  The  Peruvian  guano  owes 
its  superiority  over  other  guanos  to  the  peculiarity  that  there  are 
no  rains  on  the  coast,  and  thus  the  amnion  iacal  salts,  which  con- 
stitute the  principal  virtue  of  this  manure,  are  not  washed  out. 

Lima,  the  principal  seat  of  the  Spanish  colonial  power,  the 
abode  of  luxury  whence  the  royal  octopus  continually  drew  the 
wealth  of  a  whole  world,  still  preserves  something  of  the  coquetry, 
the  lightness  of  manners,  and  the  satirical  spirit  of  the  viceregal 
courts.  Spain  has  left  her  traces  in  this  land  of  mildness,  refine- 
ment, elegance,  and  frivolity.  The  foreigner  is  impressed  with  the 
strange  contrast  of  sensual  ardor  and  religious  fanaticism,  of  ex- 
travagance and  devotion,  of  indifference  and  passion.^  In  Lima 
the  people  are  generally  gallant  and  witty,  and  in  the  opinion  of  the 
women  devotion  is  but  another  word  for  love.  They  are  much 
sRadiguet.     "Souvenirs  dc  I'Amcriqiic  Espagnole." 


214  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1876 

adored  and  delight  in  it.  Their  attractions  are  irresistible  when 
they  are  dressed  in  the  fashion  of  the  country.  They  are  always 
seen  alone  in  the  streets,  shod  with  blue  satin,  dressed  in  the  saya 
or  clinging  skirt.  The  first  man  who  meets  them  may  address 
them,  sometimes  even  they  make  the  advance,  and  with  the  veil 
thrown  over  the  face  and  covering  it  completely  save  a  narrow  open- 
ing for  one  eye,  they  take  delight  in  inflaming  the  curiosity  of  the 
passer-by.  Lima,  "  the  paradise  of  women,"  is  the  place  devoted 
to  amorous  intrigues,  equivocal  adventures,  and  toothsome  scan- 
dals. Its  squares,  surrounded  by  public  monuments,  fine  houses 
and  arcades,  and  refreshed  by  fountains;  its  wide  streets,  through 
the  middle  of  which  runs  a  deep  and  clear  rivulet;  and  its  vast 
promenades  have,  in  broad  daylight,  the  keen  attraction  and  charm- 
ing mystery  of  a  masquerade.  It  seems  like  a  Spanish  city  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  rejuvenated  and  modernized  by  some  in- 
genious decorator  who  has  been  careful  to  multiply  the  gaslights 
and  to  fill  the  shops  with  the  most  delicate  and  dazzling  produc- 
tions of  Parisian  industry;  or  like  an  opera  scene  enlivened  by 
conventional  figures,  and  not  a  capital  harassed  by  a  long  and 
unbroken  anarchy. 

Nevertheless,  Lima  is  something  more  than  a  luxurious  and 
worldly  capital.  If  the  city  of  the  viceroys  has  preserved  the  im- 
press of  its  former  lords,  as  Cuzco,  the  ancient  city  of  the  incas, 
preserves  its  Indian  character  and  also  its  Indian  population,  it  is 
none  the  less  a  center  of  labor  and  instruction.  Its  poets  have  noth- 
ing in  common  with  the  versifiers  of  the  old  times,  who  were  edu- 
cated by  the  Jesuits  and  Franciscans,  and  condemned  to  sterile  imita- 
tion of  the  classical  works  which  were  not  prohibited.  Its  authors 
picture  society  skillfully,  are  close  observers,  have  keen  wit,  and 
handle  satire  with  ability.  Many  of  them  have  even  won  distinction 
in  the  drama,  and  Lima  and  Cuzco  has  each  its  university,  and  the 
former  has  also  an  institute  organized  on  the  German  system,  of 
which  the  foundation-stone  was  laid  January  i,  1873.  An  industrial 
school  for  the  training  of  artisans,  founded  by  Pardo  when  he  was 
mayor,  was  consecrated  on  the  same  day.  Beside  its  classrooms 
there  are  workshops  for  carpentry,  cabinet-making,  iron-work- 
ing, and  printing.  When  the  pupils  have  finished  their  educa- 
tion they  receive  a  sum  of  money  to  procure  the  means  of  setting 
up  for  themselves. 


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Chapter    XIV 

CHILI.     1825-1876 

OF  all  the  republics  sprung  from  emancipated  Spanish 
colonies,  Chili  has  had  the  least  disturbed  existence.  A 
period  of  prolific  tranquillity  long  since  succeeded  the  first 
and  inevitable  crisis.  The  stability  so  early  introduced  into  its  in- 
stitutions made  Chili  a  prosperous  commercial  and  industrial  na- 
tion, with  a  natural  inclination  for  material  progress.  The  char- 
acter of  its  inhabitants,  calm,  reflective,  little  inclined  to  excite- 
ment, too  punctilious  perhaps,  has  been  favorable  to  internal  peace. 
Among  the  nations  of  South  America  the  Chilians  most  resemble 
Europeans;  their  customs  and  institutions,  still  rather  aristocratic, 
have  a  certain  analogy  with  those  of  England. 

It  may  be  said,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  nature  of  the  coun- 
try, whose  climate  and  products  also  resemble  those  of  temperate 
Europe,  protects  it  against  both  civil  war  and  foreign  invasion. 
It  is  a  narrow  strip  enclosed  between  the  sea  and  the  mountains, 
and  offers  few  resources  to  the  conquered  for  hiding,  taking  breath, 
and  forming  again.  Insurrections  last  but  a  short  time,  and  the 
first  battle  is  almost  always  decisive.  For  this  reason  there  has 
never  been  chronic  civil  war  in  Chili  as  in  the  neighboring  republics, 
Bolivia,  for  instance,  whose  southern  border  it  touches,  where  vast 
deserts  offer  a  secure  refuge  to  the  defeated  but  not  discouraged 
parties. 

San  Martin,  O'Higgins,  and  Freyre,  who  won  fame  in  the  war 
of  independence,  were  the  ephemeral  presidents  of  the  first  years  of 
freedom.  Here  as  elsewhere  the  Unitarians  and  Federalists  dis- 
puted for  power.  From  the  first  the  republic  experienced  shock  after 
shock,  insurrection  after  insurrection,  and  was  in  turmoil  because 
of  continual  changes  of  president  and  constitution.  A  Congress 
met  on  February  24,  1828,  at  Santiago  and  then  at  Valparaiso,  to 
form  a  constitution.  The  document  was  the  work  of  the  Radicals 
or  Federalists,  was  based  on  democratic  principles,  and  served  to 
excite  rioting  at  Concepcion  in  the  following  year. 

215 


216  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1828- 183S 

The  Opposition,  that  is,  the  Unitarians,  known,  in  allusion  to 
their  reactionary  tendencies,  by  the  permanent  nickname  of  "  Pelu- 
concs,"  or  the  "  Wigs,"  had  General  Joaquin  Prieto  at  its  head,  and 
in  its  ranks  a  citizen  named  Diego  Portales,  who  was  very  soon  to 
play  an  important  part.  General  Pinto,  who  was  invested  with  the 
executive  power  after  the  fall  of  Freyre,  resigned  in  order  to  pro- 
mote harmony,  and  the  Federalists  put  General  Lastera  in  his  place. 
Party  strife  waxed  hot.  An  insurrectionary  junta  was  formed 
in  Santiago.  The  Pehicones  won  the  battle  of  Larcay,  declared 
the  constitution  "  null  and  void,"  and  proscribed  its  principal 
defenders. 

A  policy  of  compromise  prevailed  in  the  councils  of  the  govern- 
ment, designed  to  resist  the  Radicals,  under  the  well-known  pretext 
that  the  country  was  not  yet  ripe  for  liberty,  and  to  oppose  an 
obstacle  to  the  abuses  that  the  triumph  of  the  upper  classes  and 
the  clergy  could  not  fail  to  cause  or  revive.  This  was  the  political 
philosophy  that  inspired  the  authors  of  the  constitution  of  1833,  in 
which  they  made  visible  efforts  to  reconcile  liberty  and  republican 
forms  with  a  very  strong  and  almost  independent  executive  power, 
giving  a  large  place  to  the  advantages  of  fortune  if  not  of  birth, 
at  the  same  time  acknowledging  the  rights  of  the  people. 

The  constitution  of  1833  recognizes  three  powers — the  legisla- 
tive, the  executive,  and  the  judicial.  The  first  is  exercised  by  the 
National  Congress  composed  of  a  chamber  of  twenty  senators, 
elected  for  nine  years  by  special  electors,  and  a  chamber  of  depu- 
ties elected  for  three  years  by  direct  vote,  at  the  ratio  of  one  deputy 
for  every  20,000  inhabitants.  Senators  must  be  thirty-six  years 
of  age  and  possess  an  income  of  $2000,  and  deputies  an  income 
of  $500.  The  executive  power  is  exercised  by  a  president,  the 
supreme  head  of  the  nation  and  of  the  administration,  elected  by 
indirect  suffrage  for  a  term  of  five  years,  and  reeligible  only  once. 
This  reeligibility  was  abolished  in  1871.  The  president  has  the 
command  of  the  land  and  sea  forces  and  can  proclaim  martial  law. 
The  judicial  power  has  the  exclusive  right  of  deciding  suits,  and  a 
jury  is  allowed  only  in  cases  involving  the  press.  The  constitution 
guarantees  liberty  of  writing.  A  decree  of  September  25,  1846, 
established  a  special  tribunal  for  press  offenses,  composed  of  a  judge 
of  first  instance,  and  jurors  taken  from  a  list  which  is  drawn  up 
every  year  by  the  municipal  council  of  each  town  in  which  any 
periodical  is  published.     The  constitution  also  guarantees  inviola- 


CHILI  217 

1835 

bility  of  domicile,  proclaims  liberty  of  industry,  prohibits  unusual 
judicial  sentences,  and  abolishes  slavery. 

Portales,  one  of  the  framers  of  this  document,  insured  its 
enforcement  during-  the  years  that  he  was  at  the  head  of  the  minis- 
try. When  the  term  of  office  of  Prieto,  whom  Congress  had  raised 
to  the  presidency,  expired  in  1835,  the  election  of  Portales  was 
discussed ;  but  he  would  not  accept  the  nomination  which  his  numer- 
ous political  friends  and  admirers  offered  him,  and  made  every 
effort  to  bring  about  Prieto's  reelection. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Santa  Cruz,  who  had  become  the 
head  of  the  Peruvio-Bolivian  Confederation,  furnished  arms  and 
vessels  of  war  to  the  Chilian  exiles  led  by  Freyre.  Public  opinion 
attributed  ambitious  views  to  Santa  Cruz,  whose  intervention  might 
have  appeared  necessary  if  there  had  been  a  civil  war.  Freyre 
descended  as  far  as  Chiloe,  where  he  remained  for  a  fortnight,  sup- 
ported by  the  enthusiasm  of  the  inhabitants  of  San  Carlos,  but  was 
defeated  and  obliged  to  fly  in  the  boat  of  a  fisherman,  who  was  to 
take  him  on  board  an  American  whaler.  Freyre  said  to  his  con- 
ductor :  "  I  have  not  a  real,  but  I  will  never  forget  you,  and  some 
day  you  shall  be  rewarded  " ;  but  the  fisherman,  not  trusting  much 
to  the  future,  sold  the  fugitive  for  an  ounce  of  gold.  War  was 
declared  against  Santa  Cruz,  and  the  army  was  organized.  It  lay 
at  Quillota,  near  Valparaiso,  awaiting  the  signal  to  start,  when  four 
companies,  instigated  by  Colonel  Vidaurre,  revolted  while  Portales 
was  holding  the  last  review.  The  minister  was  made  prisoner,  and 
the  revolted  troops  marched  on  Valparaiso.  The  governor  of  the 
city,  supported  by  the  national  guard  and  the  seamen,  posted  himself 
in  a  position  easy  to  be  defended  and  blocked  the  road  against  the 
troops  of  Vidaurre.  The  encounter  took  place  in  the  middle  of  a 
night  in  the  month  of  June,  which  is  winter  in  that  countr3^  A  well- 
escorted  hirlocho  or  cabriolet  went  in  the  rearguard  of  the  insur- 
gent army.  A  man  descended  from  this  carriage  and  walked  stead- 
ily to  the  side  of  the  road;  shots  were  hef.rd,  and  the  man  fell. 
When  the  first  light  of  dawn  illumined  the  field  of  battle  the  national 
guards  carried  away  a  body  pierced  by  four  bullets.  It  was  that  of 
Portales.  The  first  shot  fired  by  his  friends  had  been  his  death  war- 
rant. The  heads  of  the  movement  who  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
conquerors  were  taken  to  Valparaiso  to  be  shot.  They  all  bravely 
faced  death.  The  tragical  end  of  Portales  awakened  many  keen 
regrets.     He  left  to  his  country  an  honored  memory  and  many  in- 


218  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1835-1858 

stitutions  that  he  himself  was  far  from  considering  as  perfect  and 
final.  The  reformation  of  the  clergy  and  of  the  courts  of  justice ; 
the  creation  of  the  national  guard;  the  organization  of  the  police; 
and,  above  all,  the  assured  confidence  of  the  country  in  the  gov- 
ernment, give  this  enlightened  administrator  a  claim  to  public 
remembrance.^ 

The  first  attempt  of  the  Chilians  against  Santa  Cruz  produced 
no  result,  but  the  second  ended  in  the  defeat  of  the  Protector  and 
destroyed  his  political  edifice.  Chili,  thanks  to  the  good  financial 
administration  of  Rinjifo,  the  intelligent  and  active  friend  to  Por- 
tales,  was  able  to  provide  for  the  expenses  of  the  expedition  with- 
out a  loan.  This  triumph  of  the  Chilian  arms  attained  the  double 
advantage  of  making  the  republic  respected  abroad  and  of  securing 
that  tranquillity  at  home  which  it  has  since  enjoyed. 

Prieto  retired  from  power  in  1841,  but  his  policy  of  moderation 
was  continued  by  his  successor,  General  Bulnes.  Under  his  admin- 
istration Spain  at  length  recognized  the  independence  of  Chili 
(1844).  The  successor  of  Bulnes,  in  1851,  was  an  old  professor 
of  the  University  of  Chili,  a  man  of  distinguished  talent,  named 
Manuel  Montt,  attached,  like  himself,  to  the  Conservative  party. 
After  the  elections,  which  had  caused  great  excitement,  insur- 
rectionary movements  broke  out  in  various  places.  In  San  Felipe 
a  Junta  of  Equality  was  established.  The  new  president  gave  the 
command  of  the  army  to  his  predecessor,  who  secured  the  final 
triumph  of  the  government,  and  by  retiring  into  private  life  set  an 
example,  certainly  very  new  in  South  America,  but  glorious  every- 
where, of  a  victorious  soldier  laying  down  his  sword  before  a  civil 
magistracy.  Fresh  disturbances  broke  out  in  1858.  This  time  the 
enemies  of  the  president  were  the  reactionary  Conservatives,  or 
Pcluconcs,  and  the  Radicals.  Their  coalition  almost  overthrew  him. 
The  establishment  of  a  Protestant  chapel  in  Valparaiso  was  the  pre- 
text for  the  revolt  of  the  ultraconservatives,  incited  by  the  Catholic 
clergy.  The  Radicals,  taking  advantage  of  the  circumstances,  de- 
manded reforms  in  the  constitution  and  opened  a  Constituent  Club 
in  Santiago,  which  the  government  put  under  the  ban,  as  a  menace 
to  public  order;  but  the  order  was  not  obeyed.  Force  was  used, 
many  arrests  were  made,  and  martial  law  was  proclaimed  in  the 
cities  of  Santiago  and  Valparaiso.  As  a  consequence  of  these  meas- 
ures Copiapo  rose  in  revolt,  and  the  urban  guard  took  up  arms  and 
expelled  the  lawful  authorities.  A  young  man  named  Pedro  Leon 
1  Radiguet.    "  Souvenirs  de  VAmcrique  Espagnole." 


CHILI  219 

1858-1864 

Gallo  was  proclaimed  intendant  and  military  commandant.  A  little 
later  (January,  1859)  the  victorious  Radicals  seized  Talca  and  oc- 
cupied it  for  about  a  month. 

Important  reforms  were  carried  out  even  in  the  midst  of  all 
these  complications.  Chili,  like  the  rest  of  the  South  American 
colonies,  had  inherited  from  her  old  masters  a  confused  collection 
of  laws  and  customs  taken  from  the  Roman  law,  the  laws  of  Alfonso 
the  Wise,  the  Siete  Partidas,  the  ordinance  of  Bilbao,  and  the  old 
colonial  jurisprudence.  A  scheme  for  recasting  all  these  documents 
was  submitted  to  Congress  at  the  suggestion  of  the  president,  was 
approved  in  all  its  parts,  and  had  the  force  of  law  from  January  i, 
1859.  European  jurisconsults  recognize  in  this  a  simple  and  pro- 
found method,  a  happy  alliance  of  Roman  law,  Spanish  law,  and  the 
French  laws  that  were  begotten  by  the  spirit  of  1789. 

The  position  of  Montt  was  becoming  more  difficult.  The  gen- 
erals lent  their  assistance  unwillingly  to  a  civilian  president. 
Though  he  tried  to  get  on  with  them  he  got  the  Congress  to  give 
him  extraordinary  pow'ers,  defeated  the  insurgent  army  on  the  plain 
of  Penuelos,  and  obliged  his  adversaries  to  have  patience  at  least 
until  the  regular  election  of  another  president,  to  give  legal  force  to 
their  pretensions  and  votes.  In  reality,  these  attempts  had  not  af- 
fected institutional  foundations.  Jose  Joaquin  Perez  was  called 
into  power  by  the  elections  of  July,  1861.  No  disorder  accompanied 
his  accession,  which  took  place  in  the  following  September.  His 
presidency  was  the  result  of  the  fusion  of  all  parties,  for  all  had 
united  to  secure  his  triumph.  He  was  a  man  of  upright  motives, 
inclined  to  conciliation,  and  began  his  administration  by  an  act  of 
clemency.  He  induced  the  Chambers  to  sanction  a  complete  am- 
nesty for  all  political  crimes  committed  since  1851;  and  later,  in 
March,  1863,  restored  to  the  officers  who  were  compromised  in  the 
insurrection  of  1859,  the  rank  which  they  held  in  the  army.  The  ad- 
vantage of  the  combination  which  had  raised  him  to  power  was  that 
it  did  not  mean  the  victory  of  one  of  the  two  parties  over  the  other; 
it  had  nevertheless  the  disadvantage  of  obliging  him  to  carry  out  a 
policy  of  counterpoise  and  compromise.  This  policy,  w^hich  put  off 
the  time  for  self-assertion,  had  no  other  result  at  last  than  to  di- 
minish the  influence  of  the  government.  The  advanced  party  ac- 
cused Perez  of  weakness;  the  Conservatives  blamed  him  for  not 
conforming  to  their  programme,  for  favoring  the  Liberals,  and 
accused  him  of  ingratitude.     In  the  Congress  the  Conservative  op- 


220  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1864-1865 

position  had  ex-President  Montt  for  their  leader.  The  government, 
nevertheless,  secured  an  almost  complete  triumph  in  the  elections 
of  March  and  April,  1864. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  executive  power  was  thus  consolidat- 
ing itself  at  home,  very  grave  complications  arose  abroad.  On  April 
14,  1864,  the  Spanish  squadron  seized  the  Chincha  Islands,  Chili, 
on  account  of  her  proximity  to  Peru,  was  greatly  excited  on  learn- 
ing that  Spain  claimed  the  possession  of  those  islands,  and  that  she 
looked  upon  the  cessation  of  the  war  since  1825  as  a  sort  of  truce. 
Before  the  danger  which  threatened  Peru,  the  Chilians  desired  to 
take  up  arms  and  be  ready  to  help  her,  and  for  this  purpose  energetic 
and  patriotic  manifestations  took  place  all  over  the  republic.  When 
the  Treaty  of  Callao  had  put  an  end  to  the  Hispano-Peruvian  war, 
Spain  turned  against  Chili  and  addressed  certain  demands  to  her 
because  of  her  attitude  during  this  war.  Apologies  were  made 
which  satisfied  the  representative  of  Madrid  at  Santiago,  as  he  de- 
clared (May  20,  1865).  A  good  understanding  appeared  to  be 
reestablished  when  the  news  was  received,  on  September  12,  that 
the  resident  minister  of  Spain,  Tavira,  was  recalled ;  that  the  ar- 
rangement signed  by  him  was  disavowed ;  and  that  orders  had  been 
given  to  Admiral  Pareja  to  sail  for  Chili  escorted  by  five  vessels  of 
war. 

The  Chilian  nation  was  celebrating  the  annual  festivals  of  its 
independence  when  the  new  Spanish  negotiator,  to  whom  a  deep 
hatred  and  mean  prejudices  against  Chili  were  attributed,  presented 
himself  (September  17)  on  board  the  Villa  de  Madrid  before  Val- 
paraiso, a  large  and  opulent  commercial  city  and  port  of  deposit 
for  the  Pacific  Ocean.  On  the  next  day  Pareja  addressed  an  ulti- 
matum to  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  demanding  immediately 
a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns  to  the  Spanish  flag,  and,  within  four 
days,  full  explanations  on  the  principal  points  of  the  old  demands. 
The  minister,  Alvaro  Covarrubias,  gave  an  energetic,  dignified,  and 
decidedly  negative  reply  to  this  unreasonable  demand.  He  protested 
solemnly  against  the  measures,  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  treaties, 
which  were  employed  against  Chili,  and  threw  all  the  responsibility 
for  this  scandalous  abuse  of  strength  on  the  aggressor :  "  The  Re- 
public, strong  in  the  justice  of  her  cause,  supported  by  the  heroism 
of  her  sons,  taking  God  for  judge  and  the  civilized  world  for  wit- 
ness of  the  strife,  will  defend  her  honor  and  privileges  to  the  last 
extreme,  and  will  wage  war  by  all  the  means  permitted  by  the  law 


CHILI  221 

18«5-ia66 

of  nations,  however  extreme  and  painful  they  may  be."  Pareja 
replied  by  a  second  ultimatum,  dated  at  night  on  the  22d,  but  sent 
on  the  morning  of  the  23d,  in  which  he  fixed  six  o'clock  in  the 
morning-  of  the  24th  as  the  time  when  he  should  appeal  to  force.  At 
the  same  time  he  refused  all  friendly  intervention  of  the  diplomatic 
body  resident  in  Santiago.  The  attitude  of  the  government  was 
firm  and  resolute ;  the  president,  by  means  of  an  address,  which  was 
posted  up  everywhere,  let  the  people  know  that  he  was  resolved  to 
face  the  consequences  of  the  struggle  provoked  by  Spain.  Congress 
voted  by  acclamation  $20,000,000  to  arm  the  country  by  sea 
and  land ;  the  declaration  of  war  was  solemnly  proclaimed  in  the 
whole  republic,  and  produced  an  admirable  outburst  of  patriot- 
ism. In  the  meanwhile  Pareja,  taking  up  positions  with  his  vessels, 
declared  the  ports  of  Valparaiso,  Coquimbo,  Caldera,  Herradura, 
Tome,  and  Talcahuano  in  a  state  of  blockade.  To  counteract  this 
measure,  which  directly  affected  foreign  commerce  and  raised  sharp 
protests  from  the  neutral  powers,  the  government  of  the  republic 
opened  thirt3'-eight  new  ports  and  abolished  the  customs  duties. 

There  w^as  no  serious  encounter  between  the  two  countries 
until  November  26.  The  Chilian  corvette  Esmeralda  had  left  Val- 
paraiso on  the  night  of  the  17th  just  when  the  enemy's  squadron 
w^as  entering  it.  On  the  26th  she  was  near  Papulo,  anchored  near 
the  coast  a  few  miles  from  Valparaiso.  At  dawn  of  the  same  day 
the  Spanish  gunboat  Virgen  de  Covadonga,  coming  from  Coquimbo 
and  steering  a  course  toward  the  south,  was  going  to  pass  on  the 
other  side  of  Papulo,  when  the  Esmeralda,  by  a  bold  maneuver,  at- 
tacked and  took  her  after  a  fight  of  twenty  minutes.  On  receipt 
of  the  news  of  this  reverse,  Pareja,  who  had  distinctly  heard  the 
cannonade  on  board  his  flagship,  retired  to  his  cabin,  wrote  this  re- 
quest :  "  I  ask  as  a  favor  that  my  body  be  not  thrown  into  the 
waters  of  Chili,"  and  killed  himself  with  a  revolver.  The  news- 
papers of  that  period  printed  a  letter,  which  he  had  written  to  a 
friend  in  those  last  moments,  declaring  that  the  errors  of  judgment, 
not  of  wall,  that  had  caused  him  to  mislead  the  government  of  the 
queen  could  only  be  expiated  by  his  death.  He  confessed  that  he 
had  been  unjust  to  Tavira,  and  declared  that  the  interest  of  Spain 
required  her  to  take  advantage  of  the  first  opportunity  and  make 
peace  with  Chili.  We  refer  to  this  document  with  due  reserve  and 
W'ithout  guaranteeing  its  authenticity.  Whatever  the  truth  may  be, 
the  Villa  de  Madrid  left  the  roads  of  Valparaiso  (January  i,  1866) 


222  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1866 

for  twenty-four  hours,  taking  the  body  of  the  suicide,  whose  tragical 
end  was  kept  secret  until  the  brigadier  Mendez  Nufiez,  commander 
of  the  frigate  Numancia,  which  was  in  the  waters  of  Callao,  had 
taken  command  of  the  squadron.  As  soon  as  the  government  of 
ChiH  knew  of  the  death  of  its  enemy,  it  offered  to  receive  the  re- 
mains of  the  admiral  in  the  cemetery  of  Valparaiso  and  hold  them 
at  the  disposal  of  the  family,  but  the  body  of  Pa  re  j  a  had  by  that 
time  been  buried  at  sea.  The  new  Spanish  commander,  perceiving 
the  impossibility  of  effectively  guarding  more  than  1250  miles  of 
coast,  reduced  the  blockade  to  the  ports  of  Valparaiso  and  Cardela. 
Besides,  one  part  of  his  force  was  about  to  be  employed  against 
Peru,  which  had  given  orders  to  hold  its  ships  in  readiness.  The 
blockade  of  Valparaiso  had  been  a  mortal  blow  for  the  treasury, 
and,  besides,  had  ruined  private  individuals,  because  Valparaiso  is 
the  commercial  center  of  Chili,  as  Santiago  is  its  agricultural  center. 
Mendez  Nunez  caused  a  new  injury  to  the  finances  by  declaring  that 
coal  from  the  mines  of  the  republic,  which  is  an  article  of  consider- 
able exportation,  would  be  considered  as  contraband  of  war,  and 
seized,  although  it  were  found  on  board  neutral  vessels.  However 
much  she  suffered  by  the  war,  Chili  w^as  not  disposed  to  withdraw. 
The  capture  of  the  Covadonga  had  raised  her  hopes,  which  were 
raised  still  higher  by  another  advantage  gained  by  the  Chilian  navy 
in  the  roads  of  Abtoa. 

Besides  the  alliance  with  Peru,  which  was  settled  by  the  treaty 
of  December,  1865,  Chili  relied  on  the  assistance  of  Ecuador, 
Colombia,  and  Venezuela,  and  hoped  for  the  pow^erful  intervention 
of  the  United  States,  since  the  representative  of  the  great  republic 
was  certainly  working  in  favor  of  peace.  This  was  the  position 
of  affairs  w-hen  one  of  the  most  odious  deeds  of  the  century  was 
done. 

Valparaiso  (Vale  of  Paradise),  the  principal  port  of  Chili,  was 
then  a  city  of  about  80,000  inhabitants.  It  is  situated  at  the  head 
of  a  deep  circular  inlet  enclosed  by  hills  400  meters  high.  One 
of  these  heights.  Mount  Allegro,  was  covered  wuth  elegant  country 
houses,  belonging  for  the  most  part  to  Englishmen.  The  city  is 
divided  into  two  sections,  the  port  and  the  Almendral  (place  of  al- 
mond trees)  east  of  the  port.  The  port  is  the  true  center  of  the 
commerce  and  activity  of  Valparaiso  and  the  most  considerable 
district  of  the  city,  which  also  extends  for  some  distance  through 
gaps  in  the  hills  called  quchradas.     In  the  port,  in  a  long  line, 


CHILI 


223 


1866 

were  situated  the  warehouses  and  counting-houses  of  the  mer- 
chants, who  are  ahnost  all  foreigners.  This  line  of  buildings 
was  overlooked  by  the  vast  and  magnificent  customs  house,  and  the 
residences  of  the  consular  authorities  were  also  there.  Two  forts 
commanded  the  harbor,  and  a  citadel  defended  the  city.  In  reality 
Valparaiso  was  a  defenseless  town.  The  Chilian  government  had 
even  withdrawn  some  guns  from  a  battery,  which  without  being 
useful  for  defense,  might  give  a  shadow  of  a  pretext  for  an  attack. 
Valparaiso  is  the  great  depot  of  Chilian  commerce.  Most  of  the 
vessels  that  come  round  Cape  Horn  or  from  the  northern  regions 


put  in  at  the  port,  and  this  causes  a  great  mercantile  activity  and 
animation.  But  the  bay,  which  is  semicircular,  does  not  offer  a 
good  anchorage  except  from  December  to  April.  From  the  begin- 
ning of  May  until  the  end  of  August  it  is  constantly  lashed  by  the 
northwest  winds,  which  very  often  occasion  disasters.  The  Spanish 
squadron  took  advantage  of  the  last  days  in  which  it  was  possible 
for  it  to  be  stationed  before  Valparaiso  to  bombard,  bum,  and  ruin 
that  defenseless  city. 

Mendez  Nunez  had  prepared  for  the  operation  coolly.  He 
gave  notice  that  if  after  four  days  the  Chilian  government  did 
not  adhere  to  the  terms  of  arrangement  established  on  the  bases 
proposed  by  France  and  England,  which  in  reality  differed  very 


224.  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1866 

slightly  from  those  of  Pareja,  he  would  bombard  Valparaiso.-  On 
March  31,  i866,  a  little  before  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
the  frigate  Numancia  fired  two  guns  as  if  to  warn  the  inhab- 
itants. They  were  given  an  hour  to  put  themselves  under  shelter 
from  the  bombs.  Soon  all  the  heights  situated  behind  the  city 
were  covered  with  men,  women,  and  children,  who  were  flying 
from  death,  and  who  abandoned  the  greater  part  of  what  they 
possessed.  Line  of  battle  was  formed  by  the  ships  and  the 
firing  began  with  shouts  of  "  Long  live  the  queen."  A  shower  of 
bombs  fell  on  the  customs  house,  the  commissariat,  the  hospital, 
the  house  for  the  poor,  and  the  quarters  surrounding  these  build- 
ings. At  noon,  after  a  cannonade  of  three  hours,  the  Spanish  ships 
ceased  firing  and  retired  toward  the  entrance  of  the  roads;  their 
work  was  done.  Merchandise  worth  $8,400,000  was  destroyed, 
the  greater  part  of  the  city  was  in  ruins,  and  the  conflagration 
ended  by  devouring  the  principal  wards.  The  white  flag  hoisted 
on  the  hospital  had  been  thrown  down;  the  national  standard, 
with  its  single  star,  alone  remained  standing  over  the  smoking  ruins 
of  the  Vale  of  Paradise.  The  neutral  vessels  looked  on  passively  at 
the  destruction  of  such  a  beautiful  seat  of  commerce  and  the  ruin 
of  their  fellow-countrymen.  This  was  the  last  act  of  the  Spanish 
squadron.  The  blockade  of  Valparaiso  was  raised  on  April  14,  and 
very  soon  the  barbarous  Mendez  Nunez  finally  left  the  Pacific  with- 
out making  any  kind  of  arrangement  with  the  republic. 

The  result  of  foreign  aggression  was  a  better  understanding 
between  Chili  and  the  neighboring  republics.  Their  treaty  of 
quadruple  alliance  against  Spain  led  to  great  intimacy  between 
Chili,  Peru,  Bolivia,  and  Ecuador,  and  in  this  manner  the  dif- 
ferences which  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  had  produced  continual 
conflicts  between  Chili  and  Bolivia  respecting  the  northeastern 
boundary  were  adjusted.  The  disputed  territory  was  amicably 
divided  by  a  treaty  signed  at  Santiago. 

On  the  other  hand,  nothing  had  disturbed  home  politics.  The 
constitution  came  out  intact  from  that  severe  trial,  and  the  president 
could  proudly  say,  on  the  opening  of  the  session  of  1866,  that,  even 
m  the  midst  of  the  hazards  of  war,  the  country  continued  in  the 

- 1  he  real  weight  of  the  Spanish  complaints  can  be  determined  by  reference 
to  the  "  Contre-manifesto  de  M.  Alvaro  Cervarrubias,  Mimstre  des  Affaires 
Etrangeres  an  Chili,  a  propos  de  la  presente  guerre  entre  le  Chili  et  I'Espagne," 
published  by  the  Chilian  consulate  at  Paris,  January,  1863. 


C  II  I  L  I  225 

1866-1867 

enjoyment  oi  all  its  liberties.  Thus  a  fine  example  was  set  by  the 
republic  of  Chili  to  those  powerful  nations  of  Europe,  where  all 
guarantees  are  suspended  at  the  caprice  of  the  governments  for  six 
years  at  a  time,  and  where,  on  the  slightest  pretext,  the  severities 
of  martial  law  are  called  for  and  applied.  By  this  time  the  period  of 
the  elections  was  drawing  near,  and  the  president  declared :  "  They 
shall  be  the  true  expression  of  the  opinion  of  the  country.  The 
government,  whatever  may  be  the  position  in  which  it  is  placed,  will 
be  no  more  active  in  the  elections  than  it  has  been  in  the  past." 
Perez  did  not  disguise  the  damage  that  the  blockade  had  caused,  but 
at  the  same  time  he  enumerated  the  efforts  that  had  been  made  to 
repair  it.  The  salaries  of  the  government  employees  had  been 
reduced,  the  citizens  had  given  free  gifts  to  the  treasury,  and 
a  loan  without  interest  had  been  oversubscribed.  Besides,  in  spite 
of  the  preoccupations  of  the  war,  the  government  had  accomplished 
economic  improvements,  had  extended  the  telegraph  lines  and 
opened  sections  of  railway  between  Currico  and  San  Fernando. 
Nevertheless,  new  sacrifices  must  be  made;  it  was  necessary  to 
secure  Valparaiso  from  another  aggression,  to  increase  the  naval 
forces,  to  improve  the  artillery,  and  provide  coast  defenses.  In  addi- 
tion to  raising  new  loans  the  government  suggested  a  modification 
of  the  system  of  taxation.  The  nation  did  not  complain.  The  presi- 
dent who  thus  addressed  it  had  completed  his  five  years  of  office, 
but  was  reeligible  by  the  terms  of  the  constitution,  and  he  was 
reelected  July  25,  1866,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  partisans  of 
General  Bulnes.  Congress  confirmed  the  election  August  31,  1866, 
and  dissolved  on  January  15,  1867,  after  voting  a  tax  of  $5,000,000 
on  the  actual  or  approximate  income  of  private  individuals  and  cor- 
porations. The  congressional  elections  of  March  31  and  April  i, 
1867,  showed  that  however  heavy  this  burden  may  have  been, 
the  popularity  of  the  government  had  not  suffered,  since  the  op- 
position succeeded  in  electing  only  four  of  its  candidates.  The 
new  Congress  was  opened  on  June  i,  and  the  presidential  mes- 
sage proved  the  happy  influence  of  Chili's  institutions  by  show- 
ing its  steady  moral  and  material  progress,  the  reestablishment 
of  its  commerce,  and  the  strengthening  of  its  finances.  The 
Anglo-Chilian  loan  of  Alarch  and  the  internal  loan  of  August 
5,  1866,  had  covered  the  extraordinary  expenses  occasioned  by 
the  war.  In  1867  a  new  loan,  destined  to  pay  off  the  Anglo- 
Chilian   loan   of    1866   and   to   acquire   war  material,   was   made 


226  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1866-1873 

in  London.  The  reformed  tax  on  patents  and  the  income  tax 
yielded  excellent  results.  Though  the  work  of  fortification,  the 
preparation  of  material  for  heavy  artillery,  and  the  casting  of 
bronze  cannon  went  on  constantly,  the  effective  strength  of  the  bat- 
talions of  militia,  organized  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  was 
reduced.  At  the  same  time  the  national  territory  was  increased 
by  a  large  district  acquired  at  the  expense  of  the  natives  of  Arau- 
cania,  and  secured  against  the  treacherous  attacks  of  these  sav- 
ages by  the  establishment  of  the  two  fortresses  of  Ouidico  and 
Collico. 

France  and  England  had  several  times  offered  their  mediation 
to  Chili  as  well  as  to  Peru  in  the  questions  at  issue  with  Spain.  The 
Chilian  government  appeared  inclined  at  least  to  discuss  the  matter, 
but  they  thought  otherwise  in  Peru,  and  the  press  at  Santiago,  as 
at  Lima,  violently  attacked  the  conciliatory  tendencies  of  certain 
statesmen.  The  attempts  made  under  the  auspices  of  the  two 
European  powers,  and  the  proposition  to  make  a  truce  for  an 
indefinite  time  between  the  two  belligerents,  had  no  result ;  the  un- 
just and  exaggerated  pretensions  of  Spain  were,  according  to  the 
words  of  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  Chili,  Alvaro  Covar- 
rubias,  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  an  understanding.  The  United 
States  on  their  side  saw  their  good  offices  refused  for  the  same 
reasons.  Nevertheless,  a  convention  was  signed  at  Lima,  January 
2,  1867,  for  the  purpose  of  concluding  an  armistice  first  and  after- 
ward discussing  the  bases  of  a  definite  peace,  and  Chili  ratified  it  in 
1 87 1.  In  consequence  of  this  agreement  the  commerce  of  the  allies 
and  of  neutrals  was  freed  from  all  restraint.  Li  the  interval  Chili, 
following  the  example  of  Peru,  recognized  the  patriots  of  Cuba  as 
belligerents. 

In  the  meantime  a  reform  of  the  constitution  was  desired  to 
abolish  the  president's  right  to  reelection,  and  Congress  effected  this 
reform  in  July,  1871.  Thereafter  Federico  Errasuriz  was  elected 
to  succeed  Joaquin  Perez  in  the  presidency.  He  took  the  oath  on 
September  18,  the  anniversary  of  the  independence  of  Chili,  and  the 
outgoing  president  immediately  handed  him  the  scarf  of  the  national 
colors,  which  was  the  emblem  of  the  power  he  was  called  upon  to 
exercise. 

Errasuriz  had  successively  discharged  the  duties  of  intendant 
of  the  province  of  Santiago,  deputy,  minister,  and  senator.  Dur- 
ing the  war  he  had  taken  the  portfolio  of  Justice  and,  temporarily, 


CHILI  227 

1873-1176 

that  of  Foreign  Affairs.  He  kept  in  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior  and 
in  that  of  Foreign  Affairs  Eulogio  Altamirano,  a  member  of  the 
late  cabinet,  who  had  scarcely  taken  possession  of  his  office  when  a 
conflict  arose  with  the  Argentine  Confederation.  Both  countries 
had  long  disputed  the  sovereignty  of  Araucania  and  Patagonia, 
regions  which  until  then  had  preserved  their  independence.  The 
Argentine  Senate  having  declared  the  territory  of  Magallanes  to  be 
included  in  the  limits  of  the  confederation,  Chili,  in  order  to  assert 
her  rights,  hurriedly  granted  authority  to  one  of  her  subjects  to 
take  3000  tons  of  guano  from  the  Islands  of  Santa  Magdalena,  in 
the  Straits  of  Magellan.  At  the  same  time  the  government  took 
possession  of  all  the  coast  of  Arauco  and  distributed  the  land  in 
those  regions,  in  shares,  to  Chilian  and  foreign  colonists.  It  is 
true  that  few  dared  to  profit  by  these  concessions  because  of  the 
danger  to  life  and  property  at  such  distances  from  the  settled  parts. 
The  Indians  made  frequent  incursions  into  the  territory  in  question 
to  carry  off  the  women,  children,  and  cattle. 

The  excitement  produced  by  these  neighborhood  quarrels  for- 
tunately passed  away,  and  political,  financial,  or  commercial  rela- 
tions were  not  affected.  Other  complications  arose  with  Bolivia 
and  lasted  until  the  beginning  of  the  year  1873,  when  a  treaty 
signed  at  La  Paz  fixed  the  boundaries  of  the  two  nations  and  put 
an  end  to  their  differences. 

Although  the  economic  position  of  Chili  had  progressed  re- 
markably in  the  years  immediately  preceding  1876,  and  the  coun- 
try had  always  been  the  most  industrious  and  progressive  of  all 
the  Spanish-American  republics,  no  comparison  could  be  made  be- 
tween this  state  of  South  America  and  the  United  States.  The 
superstitious,  ignorant,  and  narrow-minded  Castilian  race  lacks  the 
unconquerable  energy  and  courage  of  the  Anglo-Saxons.  Chili, 
nevertheless,  had  one  of  the  most  advantageous  geographical  posi- 
tions; its  soil  is  fertile  and  rich  in  minerals,  and  in  spite  of 
the  scantiness  of  its  population  it  is  a  district  wonderfully  suited 
for  the  importations  of  the  Old  World.  The  public  works  pushed 
on  with  activity,  new  railways  opened  for  working,  the  tele- 
graph crossing  the  Andes  and  uniting  Santiago  and  Valparaiso 
with  Buenos  Ayres  and  Rio  Janeiro,  the  direct  communication 
with  Europe,  established  August  4,  1874,  by  a  submarine  cable, 
were  substantial  achievements,  and  had  been  obtained  without  losing 
sight  of  intellectual  interests.     The  statesmen  of  Chili  justly  con- 


228  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1876 

sidered  education  as  the  principal  guarantee  for  the  future  of  their 
country,  and  therefore  the  organization  of  teaching  was  carefully 
provided  for  by  the  government.  Primary  instruction  was  divided 
among  fiscal,  municipal,  private,  and  monastic  schools,  and  was  gra- 
tuitous even  in  many  private  establishments.  The  number  of 
schools  in  1873  ^^'^s  1 190,  of  which  726  were  public  and  464  private, 
attended  by  not  less  than  81,162  pupils,  not  including  infant  schools. 
There  were  regimental  schools  in  most  of  the  army  corps ;  and  in  the 
large  cities  night  schools  are  open  for  adults.  Unfortunately,  the 
population  could  not  benefit  equally  by  the  sacrifices  made  for  it  by 
the  state  because  it  is  widely  scattered  over  a  vast  territory.  While 
in  the  cities  there  was  one  school  for  every  1759  inhabitants,  in  the 
country,  where  the  population  is  three-quarters  of  the  total  of  the 
republic,  the  proportion  was  not  more  than  one  school  for  every 
3020  inhabitants.^ 

Normal  schools  for  teachers  of  both  sexes  have  been  founded 
to  raise  the  standard  of  education.  In  the  towns  primary  instruc- 
tion included  linear  drawing,  geography,  and  an  outline  of  the  his- 
tory of  Chili.  The  pupils  were  drilled  in  the  metric  system  of 
weights  and  measures,  which  had  been  adopted  throughout  the  re- 
public. Secondary  education  had  not  been  neglected;  in  addition 
to  a  large  college,  incorporated  with  the  National  Institution  of  San- 
tiago as  its  preparatory  section,  there  were  in  the  provinces  lyceums 
or  high  schools  assisted  by  the  state.  Santiago  also  had  a  practical 
School  of  Arts  and  Trades,  endowed  for  the  education  of  100  pupils, 
and  superintended  by  engineers  from  Europe.  In  the  mining  dis- 
trict, in  Copiapo,  a  School  of  Mines  had  been  established.  The  Con- 
servatory of  Music  and  the  School  of  Fine  Arts  are  also  worthy  of 
mention.  The  National  Institute  was  organized  like  the  College  de 
France  and  corresponds  to  the  French  universities  for  advanced  in- 
struction. A  national  literature  had  been  formed,  modeled  on  that 
of  Spain,  France,  and  England.  Chili  has  distinguished  poets,  but 
is  especially  famous  for  its  scholars,  economists,  and  financiers. 

But  much  remained  to  be  done.  Much  progress  was  still 
needed  among  a  people  where,  as  late  as  the  close  of  1874,  the 
bishops  dared  to  excommunicate  the  government  in  a  body.  The 
struggle  with  the  episcopate,  which  is  going  on  almost  everywhere 
in  South  America,  will  no  doubt  terminate  by  the  triumph  of  the 

2  Report  to  the  Congress  by  the  Inspector-General  of   Public  Instruction, 
1873. 


CHILI  229 

1876 

lay  spirit;  but  in  the  meantime,  as  it  actually  presents  itself,  it  tes- 
tifies to  an  alarming  moral  condition. 

Chili,  which  had  not  exhibited  at  Paris  in  1852,  figured  notably 
in  the  Universal  Exposition  at  Paris  in  1867,  sending  large 
colored  fabrics  that  were  not  without  merit,  engravings  on 
coins  and  medals,  lithographs,  which  were  very  curious  from  an 
ethnographical  point  of  view,  remarkable  geographical  works  made 
at  government  ex])ense,  geological  maps,  due  to  the  engineer  Plessis, 
who  was  appointed  to  study  the  geology  of  the  whole  republic, 
glazed  pottery  of  very  brilliant  colors,  magnificent  furs,  delicate 
hand-made  cotton  laces,  the  reproduction  of  an  ancient  art  which 
has  revealed  the  extreme  dexterity  of  the  Chilians,  the  curious  wool 
yielded  by  a  cross  between  the  goat  and  the  sheep,  hides  prepared  in 
various  ways,  harness  and  saddlery  very  ingeniously  made,  dried 
meat,  salted  provisions,  and  other  articles.  Beautiful  specimens 
from  her  mines — gold,  silver,  copper,  iron,  nickel,  cobalt,  lapis-lazuli, 
marbles,  and  coal — demonstrated  the  superiority  of  Chili  over  the 
other  South  American  republics  from  the  point  of  view  of  mining 
and  metallurgy.  An  international  exhibition  of  raw  and  manufac- 
tured products  opened  in  Santiago  in  1875  was  very  successful. 
It  showed  that  imports  from  France  had  for  several  years  steadily 
decreased,  while  those  from  Germany,  though  not  then  equal  to  the 
French,  had  increased  at  a  remarkable  rate.  Nevertheless,  Eng- 
lish commerce  continued  predominant.  Moreover,  the  Chilian  has 
a  marked  liking  for  England  and  claims  to  be  the  Englishman  of 
South  America.  The  national  sentiment  which  animates  him,  the 
mercantile  instinct  which  more  especially  distinguishes  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Valparaiso,  their  liking  for  comfort,  their  ready  adoption 
of  British  customs,  and  the  lack  of  sympathy  of  the  people  in  gen- 
eral for  the  French  appear  to  support  this  pretension ;  but  studying 
more  closely  the  domestic  life  of  the  Chilian,  it  will  appear  that 
he  is  more  of  a  Netherlander  than  an  Englishman.^ 

To  sum  up,  Chili,  one  of  the  richest  countries  of  South 
America,  gave  promise  of  a  prosperous  future.  From  an  economic 
point  of  viev/  it  had  an  interest  analogous  to  that  of  the  Argentine 
Republic.  The  sea  facilitates  the  working  of  the  mines,  near  which 
is  found  the  fuel  for  smelting  the  ores.  The  exploitation  of  the 
forest  and  agricultural  resources  has  the  same  advantages.  It  was 
unfortunate,  nevertheless,  that  landed  property  remained  concen- 
*  Max  Radiguet.     "Souvenirs  dc  I'Ainerique  du  Sud." 


230  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1876 

trated  in  too  few  hands.  Possessions  of  50,000  acres  of  cultiva- 
ble land  were  met  with  on  the  coast  plains,  and  of  from  250,000 
to  500,000  acres,  with  virgin  forests,  in  the  valleys  of  the  Cor- 
dilleras. Wheat  was  sown  abundantly,  but  the  most  primitive 
methods  were  employed  for  threshing  it.  The  sheaves  were  opened 
on  the  ground  in  fenced  enclosures,  wild  mares  were  let  loose  and 
excited  by  shouts  and  lashes,  and  the  stamping  of  these  irritated 
animals  replaced  the  threshing  flail.  There  were  proprietors  who 
employed  1000  mares  for  two  months  in  various  enclosures  of  this 
kind,  for  the  harvest  gathered  from  6500  acres.** 

Thus  in  Chili  also  there  was  a  want  of  laborers  that  prevented 
the  most  profitable  exploitation  of  the  productive  elements  of  the 
soil.  The  Germans  seemed  to  emigrate  willingly  to  Chili  in  large 
numbers.  The  arrival  of  4000  of  them  was  announced  during  the 
single  month  of  June,  1871. 

^Audiganne,  "La  lutte  industrielle  des  Peuples,"   1868. 


04       "C 


PART   III 

THE  PRESENT  SOUTH  AMERICA 
1876-1910 


Chapter    XV 

THE   WAR    OF    THE    PACIFIC— THE    ANDINE 
STATES    AND    VENEZUELA.     1876-1910 

THE  great  historical  event  of  the  Andine  region  during  the 
last  thirty  years  was  the  war  waged  by  Chili  against 
Bolivia  and  Peru,  and  the  resultant  civil  war  among  the 
victors,  which  is  still  fresh  in  memory. 

About  1878  Chili  was  in  a  prosperous  condition.  Twenty- 
five  years  of  peace  had  induced  the  investment  of  foreign  capital 
in  the  country,  and  the  consequent  development  of  agriculture. 
The  mineral  resources  of  the  nation  had  begun  to  be  exploited  and 
were  yielding  good  profits.  The  finances  were  in  good  condition, 
the  fleet  and  army  were  well  recruited  and  disciplined,  and  the 
public  credit  among  foreign  financiers  was  excellent.  The  republic, 
shut  in  between  the  wall  of  the  Andes  and  the  sea,  was  ambitious 
of  expansion,  and  its  strength  enabled  it  to  satisfy  the  ambition. 
To  the  north  lay  the  desert  of  Atacama,  belonging  to  Bolivia,  and 
possessing  subterranean  wealth  which  was  the  immediate  cause 
of  the  conflict. 

The  dominant  trait  of  the  present  age  is  the  controlling  in- 
fluence of  economic  questions  in  domestic  and  foreign  politics.  The 
struggles  of  parties  within  each  state  and  of  states  with  each  other 
are  carried  on  to  defend  economic  privileges  and  rights  already 
acquired,  or  to  obtain  and  divide  such  privileges.  Other  questions 
upon  which  the  union  of  parties  and  states  were  formerly  based  are 
now  subordinated  to  this.  The  bloody  war,  whose  story  we  are 
about  to  tell,  was  due  to  the  exploitation  of  nitrate  of  soda  deposits. 

In  the  Desert  of  Atacama  when  the  soil  is  dug  up  there  appears, 
under  the  upper  stratum  of  sand,  a  pure  stratum  formed  of  small 
stones,  which  the  prospectors  for  nitrate  of  soda  call  crusts  (cosfras). 
This  stratum  lies  at  a  depth  of  from  two  to  four  decimeters.  It 
lies  in  a  very  irregular  deposit  varying  in  thickness  from  four 
inches  to  six  and  a  half  feet  (Varigny).  After  the  war  of  1866 
against   Spain  a   convention   had  been   made   between   Chili   and 

233 


214  SOUTHAMERICA 

1876-1879 

Bolivia  fixing  the  frontier  at  the  twenty-fourth  degree  of  latitude; 
but  the  region  between  the  twenty-third  and  twenty-fifth  degrees 
was  subjected  to  a  pecuhar  system  of  dual  economic  control:  The 
two  states  were  to  exploit  it  in  common,  and  share  equally  the  right 
of  prospecting  for  minerals.  Difficulties  were  certain  to  arise 
from  a  system  which  subjected  a  political  dependency  of  Bolivia  to 
economic  dependence  upon  Chili.  To  be  sure  all  concessions  for 
exploitation  must  be  granted  by  the  Bolivian  government,  but  the 
advent  of  large  numbers  of  immigrants  from  Chili  in  the  vacant 
territory  created  a  delicate  situation.  Chilian  capitalists  financed 
the  exploitation,  and  Chilian  laborers  carried  on  the  industry.  Soon 
20,000  Chilian  emigrants  had  gone  to  Antofagasta.  Public  opinion 
in  the  Bolivian  capital  soon  became  sensitive  to  this  state  of  affairs, 
and  the  president  was  accused  of  favoritism  toward  these  southern 
neighbors.  Nevertheless  the  suggestion  of  war  against  Chili  came 
from  a  foreign  nation.  It  was  Peru  that  sought  and  brought  about 
the  conflict. 

Peru  had  exhausted  its  financial  resources,  and  was  on  the 
verge  of  bankruptcy.  The  revenue  from  the  guano  deposits  had 
been  alienated,  and  the  government  devised  an  export  duty  on 
nitrate  of  soda.  The  result  of  this  economic  policy  was  soon  mani- 
fest in  the  competition  between  the  untaxed  product  of  Chili  and  the 
tax-burdened  product  of  Peru.  An  easy  victory  fell  to  Chili;  the 
European  ships  deserted  the  Peruvian  and  flocked  to  the  Chilian 
ports.  Peru,  in  desperation,  demanded  that  Bolivia  levy  a  tax  upon 
the  nitrate  of  soda  of  Atacama,  and  Bolivia  yielded,  though  a  treaty 
concluded  by  the  La  Paz  government  with  Chili,  in  1874,  forbade 
such  a  tax.  This  was  war.  After  part  of  the  year  1878  had  been 
spent  in  fruitless  negotiations  Chili  recalled  its  minister  from  Bo- 
livia. Peru  tendered  its  good  offices,  but  Chili  declined  them,  and 
denounced  the  treaty  of  1866,  thus  reviving  its  claim  to  all  terri- 
tory south  of  the  twenty-third  degree  of  latitude,  because  of  the 
breach  of  the  treaty  of  1874. 

The  war  began  in  1879  "^^ith  the  Chilian  occupation,  first  of 
Antofagasta  and  then  of  the  whole  Bolivian  coast  with  the  towns 
of  Cobija  and  Calama.  The  Bolivians  had  retired  to  Calama  under 
the  command  of  Ladislas  Cabrera,  and  were  dislodged  by  the  troops 
of  the  Chilian  commander,  Sotomayor,  who  had  made  a  painful 
march  across  a  region  without  water  or  vegetation  (March  23). 

Then  ensued  a  memorable  naval  campaign.     The  Chilian  fleet 


ANDINE  STATES,  VENEZUELA    235 

1879 

detached  two  ships  to  blockade  the  Peruvian  port  of  Iquique,  bom- 
barded PisagLia  and  Mollendo,  and  laid  waste  the  Peruvian  coast. 
Thus  far  the  advantage  was  evidently  upon  the  side  of  Chili.  Two 
Peruvian  ships,  the  monitor  Huascar,  commanded  by  Grau,  and  the 
armored  frigate  Independencia,  sailed  from  Callao,  proceeded  to 
Iquique,  and  engaged  in  a  double  naval  duel  before  that  town,  with 
the  two  blockading  ships,  in  which  the  Huascar  sunk  its  Chilian 
adversary  the  Esmeralda,  but  the  Independencia  was  wrecked.  On 
land  the  Bolivian  army,  under  President  Daza,  effected  a  junction 
at  Arica  with  the  Peruvians,  under  President  Prado,  but  the  chief 
interest  in  the  war  was  transferred  to  the  sea,  where  the  intrepid 
Grau,  now  admiral,  undertook  a  heroic  campaign.  He  slipped 
through  the  line  of  the  blockading  fleet  before  Iquique  and  began 
a  cruise  of  devastation  on  the  coasts  of  Chili.  The  Chilian  gov- 
ernment put  Don  Riberos  in  command  of  its  fleet,  and  a  squadron 
composed  of  the  Blanco  Encalado,  the  Cochrane,  the  O'Higgins, 
and  the  Covandaga  sailed  in  search  of  the  Huascar.  They  found 
and  fought  her  on  October  8,  off  Cape  Agamos,  near  Antofagasta. 
After  a  heroic  struggle,  in  which  Grau  was  killed,  the  Huascar  was 
beaten  and  destroyed.  No  fleet  remained  to  dispute  the  mastery  of 
the  sea  by  Chili  within  the  zone  of  hostilities,  and  the  Chilians  pre- 
pared to  conquer  Peru  by  land. 

Peru  and  Bolivia  had  good  armies.  The  men  were  well  dis- 
ciplined, temperate,  and  inured  to  fatigue.  The  Peruvians  were 
enthusiastic  soldiers  and  confident  of  success.  The  Bolivians  were 
more  numerous,  and  could  stand  fire,  but  lacked  warlike  ardor.  The 
allied  army  was  in  two  divisions  at  Iquique  and  Arica.  The 
Chilians  landed  at  Pisagua,  to  the  number  of  io,ooo.  Thus  the 
enemies  were  isolated  from  each  other,  but  the  landing  had  not  been 
accomplished  without  a  struggle,  for  detachments  of  the  allies  had 
defended  Pisagua  for  five  hours.  The  plan  of  the  general  staff  of 
the  coalition  was  to  drive  back  to  the  sea  the  Chilian  expeditionary 
force,  and  for  this  purpose  to  effect  a  junction  of  the  two  armies  in 
the  interior  of  the  country  in  the  strong  position  of  Dolores,  whence 
they  were  to  march  to  the  coast.  But  the  Chilians  discovered  this 
plan,  and  got  the  start  of  their  enemies  by  sending  6ooo  men  with 
artillery  to  occupy  the  heights.  The  Chilian  army  reached  the 
position  first  and  threw  up  intrenchments.  When  the  enemy  ap- 
peared he  was  routed  by  a  terrible  cannonade,  and  fled,  leaving  his 
cannon  and  baggage  in  the  hands  of  the  Chilians, 


236  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1879-1880 

Buendia,  the  Peruvian  general,  rallied  his  troops  at  Tarapaca, 
where  the  garrison  of  Iquique  joined  them,  and  Sotomayor,  the 
victor  at  Dolores,  tried  in  vain  to  dislodge  them.  After  a  long  day 
of  battle  the  Peruvians  remained  masters  of  the  field,  but  the  retreat 
was  renewed.  "  The  retreat  of  Buendia  was  terrible  and  pitiable. 
The  thin  columns  took  twenty  days  to  cover  the  distance  of  forty 
leagues  to  Arica.  Forced  to  proceed  along  the  steep  slopes  of  the 
Cordillera  to  avoid  the  Chilians,  who  were  masters  of  the  plain, 
marching  by  night  in  intense  cold,  camping  by  day  without  shelter, 
under  a  burning  sun,  rarely  finding  a  spring  where  they  could 
quench  their  thirst,  compelled  to  drink  the  infected  water  of  stag- 
nant swamps,  passing  here  and  there  plundered  villages,  whose  in- 
habitants had  fled  with  their  miserable  stock  of  provisions,  these 
columns  reached  Arica  in  a  pitiful  condition.  Half  their  number 
had  perished  on  the  march.  Some  had  killed  themselves  to  put  an 
end  to  their  terrible  sufferings,  and  others  had  died  of  hunger, 
thirst,  and  disease.  In  spite  of  the  costly  victory  at  Tarapaca  the 
Desert  of  Atacama,  the  ports  of  Antofagasta,  Cobija,  Iquique,  and 
Pisagua,  with  120  leagues  of  coast,  remained  in  the  hands  of 
Chili"  (Varigny). 

These  military  reverses  were  followed  in  the  two  defeated 
countries  by  political  disturbances.  President  Prado,  who  had  not 
stirred  from  Arica,  fled  the  country,  leaving  his  powers  to  be  exer- 
cised by  the  vice-president,  General  La  Puerta ;  but  La  Puerta  was 
forced  to  resign  in  favor  of  General  Pierola,  who  was  recognized 
at  home  and  by  the  army.  A  revolution  also  took  place  in  Bolivia ; 
General  Daza  was  deposed.  Colonel  Carmancho  was  made  general- 
in-chief  in  his  stead,  and  General  Narciso  Campero  president  of  the 
republic. 

The  Peruvian  and  Bolivian  armies  were  concentrated  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Arica  and  Tacna,  The  Chilians  attempted  to  cut 
them  ofif  from  their  respective  capitals,  Lima  and  La  Paz,  by  occu- 
pying Ylo,  Pacocha  and  the  valley  of  Moqueja  with  14,000  men 
(February  15,  1880).  The  Peruvians  hoped  to  defeat  this  plan  by 
establishing  themselves  in  a  strong  position  on  the  heights  of  Los 
Angeles,  but  the  Chilians  took  the  position  by  a  night  attack.  The 
road  to  the  north  was  closed  to  the  allies.  The  victors  marched 
against  the  allied  army  at  Tacna  and  Arica,  a  laborious  march 
across  a  desert  where  everything  had  to  be  carried,  even  water  for 
the  troops. 


mo 


ANDINE  STATES,  VENEZUELA 


237 


The  little  Chilian  army  of  13,000  men,  40  Krupp  guns,  550 
artillerymen,  and  1200  cavalry  camped  for  several  days  at  Buena 
Vista  on  the  further  edge  of  the  desert,  and  then  resumed  its 
march  against  the  enemy.  It  won  a  bloody  battle  at  Tacna  (May 
25,  1880),  and  occupied  all  Peru  south  of  Ylo.     The  vanquished 


retreated  into  the  interior  toward  Lake  Titicaca.  The  town  of 
Arica,  caught  between  the  fire  of  the  fleet  and  the  Chilian  army, 
capitulated  June  7. 

The  Chilian  fleet  was  then  sent  to  harass  the  northern  coast  of 
Peru.  The  Peruvian  army  was  concentrated  near  the  capital,  be- 
tween Lima  and  the  coast.     Behind  the  intrenchments  at  Chorillos 


238  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1U0-1U5 

and  Miraflores  22,000  men  were  gathered  in  positions  which  the 
Peruvians  beheved  to  be  impregnable,  but  the  Chilians  took  them  in 
a  two  days'  fight,  January  13  and  15,  1881,  and  then  entered 
Lima. 

The  struggle  continued  for  two  years  in  the  Peruvian  territory, 
which  was  not  yet  subdued.  A  truce  w'as  signed  in  April,  1884, 
between  Bolivia  and  Chili,  not  to  be  broken  without  one  year's  no- 
tice, leaving  in  the  hands  of  Chili  all  the  territory  which  gave  Bolivia 
access  to  the  sea ;  and  Peru,  by  the  Treaty  of  Ancon,  signed  October 
23,  1883,  gave  up  to  the  victors  the  provinces  of  Tacna,  Arica, 
and  Tarapaca,  rich  in  guano  and  saltpeter.  Tarapaca  was  ceded  in 
perpetuity,  and  the  other  two  provinces  for  ten  years,  at  the  end  of 
which  a  plebiscite  should  determine  their  permanent  possession,  the 
possessor  to  pay  $10,000,000  in  silver  to  the  loser.  The  plebiscite 
has  never  been  taken,  and  Chili  still  holds  these  provinces. 

Since  the  peace  internal  affairs  take  the  fiirst  place  in  Chilian 
history.  President  Errasuriz  had  first  been  a  Clerical,  but  later 
came  to  terms  with  the  Liberals.  The  Liberal  party  made  great 
progress  after  1881.  In  that  year  President  Santa  Maria  estab- 
lished the  civil  status  of  citizens  and  in  1885  abolished  article  5  of 
the  constitution,  by  which  Catholicism  had  been  recognized  as  the 
state  religion.  Civil  strife  began  with  President  Balmaceda.  He 
wished  to  name  his  successor,  and  had  chosen  for  the  honor  San- 
fuentes,  the  minister  of  industry  and  public  works,  who  was  devoted 
to  his  chief.  This  pretension  offended  the  Liberal  party,  and  to  be 
sure  of  the  last  word  in  the  discussion  the  president  prorogued  the 
Congress.  The  opposition  to  his  measures  was  renewed  by  the 
committee  of  the  two  houses  (Comision  Conservadora),  charged  by 
the  constitution  with  the  duty  of  supervising  the  exercise  of  the 
executive  power,  deliberating  upon  it,  and  in  urgent  cases  demand- 
ing from  the  president  the  convocation  of  Congress.  This  commit- 
tee began  the  struggle,  summoned  the  people  to  rise  against  the 
president,  and  took  charge  of  the  military  operations. 

Balmaceda's  reply  to  the  committee's  remonstrance  against  the 
dissolution  was  an  increase  in  the  pay  of  the  army,  the  proclamation 
of  martial  law,  the  suppression  of  the  liberty  of  meeting  and  of  the 
press,  and  a  summons  to  the  electors  to  choose  a  constitutional  con- 
vention. These  dictatorial  measures  of  Balmaceda  were  followed 
by  revolutionary  measures  on  the  part  of  the  committee.  It  re- 
leased the  army  and  navy  from  its  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  president, 


ANDINE  STATES,  VENEZUELA    239 

1885-1892 

and,  on  January  26,  twenty-five  ships  of  the  fleet  abandoned  his 
cause  and  offered  an  asyhim  to  the  committee,  which  had  now  be- 
come a  junta  of  government.  The  army,  30,000  strong,  remained 
faithful  to  him,  and  he  also  held  a  fund  of  $30,000,000.  The  large 
cities  also  remained  loyal  to  him,  and  he  took  steps  to  collect  a  fleet 
from  the  dockyards  of  Europe. 

Between  February  and  April  Tarapaca,  Iquique,  Arica,  and 
Tacna  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Congressionalists ;  the  northern 
provinces  were  lost  to  the  president;  the  Congressionalist  capital 
was  fixed  at  Iquique;  and  in  June,  1891,  a  part  of  Balmaceda's 
troops  went  over  to  them.  The  country  was  cut  in  two.  The 
central  and  southern  provinces  elected  Claudio  Vicuna,  the 
Balmacedist  candidate  for  the  presidency,  but  the  Congressionalists, 
who  held  the  northern  provinces,  refused  to  recognize  him  and 
entrusted  the  command  of  the  troops  to  Errasuriz.  The  control 
of  the  fleet  gave  the  advantage  to  the  Congressionalists  and  after 
one  indecisive  battle  near  Valparaiso,  General  Canto,  their  leader, 
was  victorious.  Balmaceda  was  deserted  by  his  defenders.  San- 
tiago surrendered,  and  the  president,  who  had  sought  asylum  in  the 
Argentine  legation,  committed  suicide  after  writing  a  letter  to  the 
New  York  Herald.  The  news  of  his  death  was  received  with  joy 
in  the  capitol. 

The  Liberal  party,  having  conquered  the  dictator,  returned  to 
power.  The  new  Congress  which  met  November  10  continued  the 
powers  of  the  insurrectionary  junta  until  after  the  election  of  a 
new  president.  Senor  Jorje  Montt  was  unanimously  chosen  Presi- 
dent of  the  republic  November  18,  1891.  He  was  a  Liberal,  and  in 
March,  1892,  a  ministry  composed  of  five  Liberals  and  a  Radical 
took  charge  of  affairs.  The  Conservatives  were  excluded  from 
power;  and  the  Clericals  were  driven  from  public  office  by  the 
ministry  of  Matto ;  the  Liberal  press  denounced  the  "  Clerical  peril  " 
and  gave  out  that  the  return  of  the  Conservatives  to  power  would 
result  in  the  revocation  of  the  Liberal  reforms,  such  as  registration 
of  civil  status. 

A  serious  difference  with  the  United  States  was  the  sequel  of 
the  civil  war.  The  Itata,  laden  with  war  material  for  the  Con- 
gressionalists, escaped  from  the  port  of  San  Diego,  California, 
after  seizure  under  the  process  of  a  federal  court,  and  the  demand 
for  the  return  of  the  vessel  and  her  cargo  had  to  be  complied  with 
at  a  great  sacrifice  of  Congressionalist  interests.     The  attitude  of 


240  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1891-1901 

the  American  minister  and  naval  commander  had  also  been  con- 
sidered as  too  friendly  to  the  Balmacedists,  and  popular  feeling 
against  the  northerners  was  strong.  Under  these  circumstances 
ii6  petty  officers  and  men  of  the  U.  S.  S.  Baltimore  were  granted 
shore  liberty  at  Valparaiso  on  October  i6,  1891.  A  quarrel  be- 
tween some  of  these  men  and  some  Chilian  sailors  brought  on  a 
formidable  riot  in  which  two  of  the  Baltimore's  men  lost  their  lives. 
After  some  controversy  on  this  subject  the  United  States,  on 
January  22,  1892,  delivered  an  ultimatum  demanding  indemnity, 
which  was  complied  with.  The  relations  of  Chili  with  Argentina, 
Bolivia,  and  Peru  are  dealt  with  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

In  home  politics  the  results  of  the  civil  war  were  important. 
The  real  issue  of  that  struggle  was  between  parliamentary  govern- 
ment by  a  ministry  responsible  to  the  legislature,  on  the  English 
model,  and  a  representative  system  with  an  independent  executive 
like  that  of  the  United  States.  The  Congressionalist  victory  se- 
cured the  triumph  of  the  parliamentary  system,  which  has  not 
w'orked  satisfactorily  because  of  the  tendency  of  parties  to  split 
up  into  small  hostile  groups,  no  one  of  which  has  been  strong 
enough  to  control  the  Congress.  Thus  a  coalition  of  discordant 
factions,  which  is  in  its  nature  ephemeral,  is  necessary  to  form  a 
ministry;  and  the  result  has  been  frequent  changes  of  ministry, 
instability,  and  a  lack  of  continuity  in  policy  and  effectiveness  in 
administration.  In  1892  a  formal  amendment  to  the  constitution 
empowered  the  committee  of  the  two  houses  (Comision  Conserva- 
dora)  to  call  an  extraordinary  session  of  Congress  without  the 
assent  of  the  president.  Local  self-government  was  accorded  to 
municipalities  in  1891. 

President  Montt's  administration  w^as  moderate  and  concilia- 
tory. He  declined  to  stand  again,  and  in  1896  Federico  Errasuriz 
was  elected  to  that  office  by  the  Conservatives  and  a  faction  of 
Liberals,  whereupon  Montt  returned  to  his  duties  as  admiral.  In 
1901  the  Conservative  and  Liberal-Democratic  coalition  was  de- 
feated by  the  election  of  Jerman  Riesco,  upon  whom  the  Liberal 
factions  had  combined. 

I^he  educational  system  of  the  country  is  deficient  if  judged 
by  Northern  standards.  In  1895  seventy-two  per  cent,  of  the 
population  was  illiterate,  and  even  in  Santiago  the  percentage  was 
fifty-five.  Of  675,000  children  between  five  and  fifteen  years  of  age 
there  were  but  97,000  at  school  in  the  whole  country-,  and  the  fig- 


ANDINE  STATES,  VENEZUELA    241 

1901-1906 

tires  in  Santiago  were  47,000  children  and  13,000  scholars.  Primary 
education  is  free  but  not  compulsory;  schoolhouses  are  few  and 
teachers  poorly  paid,  except  among  the  German  immigrants  in  the 
south.  Secondary  and  higher  education  is  on  a  better  footing. 
There  are  numerous  colleges  and  lyceums  under  state  control  giv- 
ing free  tuition,  and  a  state  university;  also  church  seminaries 
and  a  church  university.  As  a  whole,  the  educational  system  is 
top-heavy,  and  the  elementary  schools  have  been  neglected  for 
the  benefit  of  the  higher  schools.  Religious  liberty  prevails,  but  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  is  specially  favored,  receives  substantial 
financial  aid  from  the  government,  possesses  great  w^ealth  of  its 
own,  and  exerts  great  influence.  Protestantism  is  practically  con- 
fined to  the  small  foreign  population. 

Chili  has  not  fulfilled  the  economic  promise  of  thirty  years 
ago.  For  this,  war  and  its  cost  is  partly  responsible.  First,  the 
war  with  Spain  and  the  destruction  of  Valparaiso,  then  the  war 
with  Peru  and  Bolivia  and  its  heavy  draft  on  the  men  and  resources 
of  the  nation,  then  the  civil  war  of  Balmacedists  and  Congression- 
alists,  and,  lastly,  heavy  naval  and  military  armaments  to  secure 
Chilian  claims  in  case  of  a  rupture  with  the  Argentine  Republic 
over  the  Andes  boundary,  have  checked  economic  development. 
The  total  area  is  about  300,000  square  miles.  The  census  of 
1895  showed  an  annual  average  increase  of  population  for  the 
preceding  ten  years  of  less  than  seven-tenths  of  one  per  cent. 
The  death  rate  is  very  high,  especially  in  the  cities;  in  1895  34 
for  the  whole  country,  72  in  Santiago  and  67  in  Valparaiso, 
In  the  former  city  there  were  1678  more  deaths  than  births  and  in 
the  latter  only  152  more  births  than  deaths.  Immigration  is  small 
and  the  total  foreign  population  was  only  72,000,  of  whom  29,000 
were  from  other  South  American  countries.  The  distribution  of 
population  is  abnormal.  Of  the  total  (2,712,000  in  1895),  more 
than  forty-five  per  cent,  (1,240,000)  were  urban.  Alcoholism  is 
alarmingly  prevalent  among  the  people,  and  jobbery  at  the  expense 
of  the  government  is  common.  In  the  rural  districts  organized 
brigandage,  a  heritage  from  the  civil  war  of  1891,  flourishes  un- 
checked, and  in  consequence  of  this  and  of  purely  economic  causes, 
agriculture  has  in  the  last  thirty  years  lost  the  place  it  once  held 
as  the  most  important  industry.  Landed  proprietors  congregate 
in  the  cities,  leaving  the  management  of  their  estates  to  agents, 
and  the  mass  of  the  rural  population  tends  to  follow  them,     Agri- 


242  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

1910 

cultural  products  (including  live  stock)  have  fallen  to  twelve  per 
cent,  of  the  total  exports  in  1899,  and  wheat  had  to  be  imported 
in  1901.  Stock-raising  is  increasing  under  the  stimulus  of  pro- 
tective duties  levied  upon  cattle  imported  from  the  Argentine 
Republic. 

Mining  is  the  main  industry  and  its  chief  product  is  nitrate 
from  the  north.  In  this  industry  $60,000,000  is  invested.  Other 
mineral  products  are  borax,  silver,  copper,  and  coal,  and  valuable 
iron  ores  are  found  near  the  coal  beds.  Minerals  made  up  84  per 
cent,  of  the  exports  in  1899.  Manufacturing  is  in  its  infancy,  but 
economic  conditions  are  favorable  for  its  growth  and  protective 
duties  have  been  laid  to  stimulate  it.  Railroads  are  few  (2890 
miles  in  189 1,  of  which  half  was  owned  by  the  state),  and  roads  are 
poor.  Chili  suffered  a  severe  commercial  crisis  in  the  early 
'nineties  and  adopted  the  gold  standard  of  currency  in  1895. 

In  contrast  with  the  country  as  a  whole,  the  region  on  both 
sides  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan  has  made  rapid  progress.  Sheep- 
farming  is  the  prevalent  industry  here,  and  the  thriving  city  of 
Punta  Arenas,  which  has  grown  to  a  population  of  10,000  in  ten 
years,  attests  the  general  prosperity  of  this  part  of  the  country. 

The  history  of  Peru  since  her  defeat  by  Chili  is  a  monoto- 
nous record  of  political  turmoil  and  industrial  stagnation.  General 
Miguel  Iglesias  was  made  president  by  the  help  of  the  Chilian 
army  of  occupation.  In  1886  Carceres  led  a  successful  revolu- 
tion against  him  and  ruled  in  person  until  1890,  and  through 
Morales  Bermudez  from  1890  to  1894,  when  he  again  took  the 
office  himself.  A  new  revolution  in  the  following  year  gave  the 
presidency  for  the  second  time  to  Nicolas  de  Pierola.  His  suc- 
cessors were  Romafia  (1889-1903),  Manuel  Caudamo  (1903- 
1904),  Jose  Pardo  (1904),  Augusto  B.  Lequia  (1910).  The  country 
is  characterized  by  an  educational  system  having,  in  an  exagger- 
ated form,  all  the  faults  mentioned  in  the  case  of  Chili,  by  corrupt 
courts,  and  an  all-powerful  church.  The  population  is  variously 
estimated  at  from  1,500,000  to  4,000,000,  By  the  census  of  1876 
it  was  2,660,881.  The  Indians  are  the  most  numerous  race  and 
other  important  elements  are  Spaniards,  negroes,  and  Chinese. 
These  races  are  much  mixed  in  blood,  but  are  divided  by  mutual 
hatred.  There  is  no  immigration  of  importance.  Infant  mortality 
is  very  high  and  alcoholism  very  prevalent. 

Commerce  and  industry  have  been  stagnant  since  the  Chilian 


ANDINE  STATES,  VENEZUELA    24*3 

1884-I9I0 

war,  but  now  give  some  promise  of  improvement.  A  heavy  load 
of  foreign  debt,  $270,000,000,  was  liquidated  in  1889  by  a  lease 
of  the  state  railways  and  other  concessions  with  an  annual  pay- 
ment of  $400,000.  The  credit  of  the  government  is  poor.  In 
1898  the  gold  standard  of  currency  was  adopted  by  taking  the 
pound  sterling  (libra)  as  a  unit  and  valuing  the  current  silver  as 
decimal  parts  of  the  standard  coin.  The  chief  agricultural 
products  are  sugar,  cotton,  coffee,  cacao,  rice,  hides,  and  wool, 
including  that  of  llamas  and  alpacas.  Mining  yields  copper,  silver, 
petroleum,  and  borax,  and  from  the  tropical  forest  east  of  the 
Andes  come  rubber,  Peruvian  bark,  and  dyewoods.  There  are  a 
few  small  manufactories.  Railroads  are  few,  917  miles  in  190 1, 
and  roads  almost  entirely  lacking, 

Bolivia  by  the  war  with  Chili  was  cut  off  from  access  to 
the  sea,  and  has  at  various  times  sought  the  help  of  the  Argentine 
Republic  for  the  recovery  of  her  lost  territory,  but  thus  far  to  no 
purpose.  There  remain  some  700,000  square  miles  subject  to  her 
jurisdiction.  Her  politics  have  been  simple.  President  Campero 
negotiated  the  peace  and  dictated  the  election  of  his  successor 
Pacheco  (1884).  In  like  manner  the  office  was  transferred  to 
Arce  (1884),  Baptista  (1892),  and  Alonzo  (1896).  It  was  now 
the  turn  of  the  Outs,  and  a  revolution  (1899)  placed  Paredo  in 
power,  who  was  followed  by  Ysmael  Montes  (1904).  Elections 
are  a  farce  and  there  are  but  two  political  elements :  office-seeking 
Creoles  and  apathetic  Indians.  The  population  is  about  2,000,000, 
of  whom  about  250,000  are  whites,  500,000  half-breeds,  and  the 
rest  Indians.  There  are  only  36,000  pupils  enrolled  in  the  primary 
schools,  but  the  country  boasts  six  universities,  attended  by  500 
students.  The  chief  cities  are  La  Paz,  with  62,000  inhabitants, 
and  Sucre  with  27,000.  Geographically  the  country  consists  of 
tropical  forests  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Andes,  the  high  peaks 
and  ranges,  the  temperate  plateau,  and  the  subtropical  valleys  on 
the  Pacific  slope.  Agriculture  is  unimportant.  Mining  is  the 
chief  industry,  and  there  are  exported  15,000,000  ounces  of  silver, 
7000  tons  of  tin,  and  3000  tons  of  copper  annually,  besides  small 
quantities  of  antimony,  bismuth,  and  borax.  Rubber  to  the  amount 
of  5000  tons  a  year  is  exported  through  Peru,  also  some  Peruvian 
bark. 

Means  of  communication  are  almost  non-existent.  The  courts 
are  corrupt,   as   in  Peru,   but   the  general   conditions   of   Bolivia 


244  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1876-1910 

are  more  promising.  The  public  debt  is  small  and  taxation  light. 
Natural  resources  are  abundant,  especially  minerals.  Peru  has 
decayed.     Bolivia  has  not  begun  to  grow. 

Upon  the  assassination  of  Moreno  in  1875  Dr.  Borrero  suc- 
ceeded to  the  presidency  of  Ecuador,  but  was  driven  from  power 
in  the  following  year  by  General  Veintemilla.  Then  followed  thirty 
years  of  alternate  tyranny  and  revolution,  the  victorious  chief  of 
the  moment  sometimes  masquerading  as  a  constitutional  president 
and  again  ruling  frankly  as  dictator.  An  exception  was  Dr.  An- 
tonio Flores  (1888- 1892),  who  made  an  earnest  effort  to  infuse 
honesty  and  efficiency  into  the  conduct  of  public  affairs,  and  de- 
clined reelection  at  the  end  of  his  term.  Veintemilla  was  dic- 
tator 1876-1878,  "president"  1878-1882,  dictator  1882,  and  fugi- 
tive in  1883.  His  successor,  Dr.  Placido  Caamafio  (1884-1888), 
struggled  successfully  throughout  his  term  against  conspiracies  and 
insurrections.  The  four  years  of  peace  and  order  under  Flores 
was  but  a  breathing  spell.  Under  Dr.  Luis  Cordero  the  old 
methods  of  corruption  and  oppression  returned,  bringing  the  coun- 
try to  bankruptcy  in  1894.  In  1895  Cordero  was  driven  from 
power  by  General  Eloy  Alfaro,  who  forthwith  became  dictator 
until  1897,  and  "  president "  until  1901,  when  he  secured  the  elec- 
tion of  General  Leonidas  Plaza  as  his  successor.  Plaza  was  fol- 
lowed by  Lizardo  Garcia.  The  revolutions  and  other  political  ac- 
tivities are  carried  on  by  the  whites,  who  are  only  seven  per  cent, 
of  the  population.  Their  lack  of  stability  is  illustrated  by  the 
ten  constitutions  successively  proclaimed  for  the  republic  since 
1830. 

Ecuador  has  an  area  of  116,000  square  miles,  and  a  popula- 
tion of  about  1,400,000,  of  whom  perhaps  100,000  are  whites, 
400,000  half-breeds,  and  the  rest  Indians.  The  low  coast  lands  are 
very  unhealthful,  but  in  the  mountain  valleys  at  elevations  of  4000 
feet  and  more  the  climate  is  temperate.  There  is  one  railroad 
into  the  interior  from  Guayaquil.  The  road  between  these  two 
cities  has  fallen  into  decay  and  there  are  no  other  roads  worthy 
of  the  name.  The  chief  exports  are  cocoa,  coffee,  and  rubber.  On 
April  14,  1909,  an  infamous  plot  was  discovered  and  checked. 
There  was  a  definite  plan  to  overthrow  President  Alfarro,  and  the 
present  government,  and  to  establish  instead  a  triumvirate. 

In  Colombia  President  Parra  was  succeeded  by  General  Tru- 


AND  IN  E     STATES,     VENEZUELA         245 

1876-1910 

jillo  (1878-1880),  who  had  recently  led  the  Liberal  army  to  victory. 
The  evil  consequences  of  war  now  became  apparent.  The  federal 
bond  was  greatly  weakened;  the  finances  were  in  bad  condition, 
and  in  1879  the  public  creditors  could  not  be  paid.  In  this  state  of 
affairs  a  jurist,  Dr.  Rafael  Nunez,  came  into  power  (1880).  He 
was  one  of  the  most  prominent  Liberal  leaders.  In  his  first  term 
he  undertook  the  economic  restoration  of  the  country.  He  was 
reelected  in  1884,  and  in  January.  1885,  seven  states  rose  in  insur- 
rection against  him.  With  the  moral  support  of  the  United  States, 
a  Colombian  man-of-war  drove  the  insurgents  from  Panama  and 
their  ships  were  captured  in  July.  After  this  Nunez  left  the  Au- 
tonomist party  and  went  over  to  the  Centralists.  In  pursuance  of 
this  new  policy  he  overthrew  the  constitution,  and  in  the  following 
year  procured  the  ratification  of  a  new  one,  which  reestablished  a 
centralized  republic.  The  majority  in  Congress  was  of  the  same 
mind  as  the  president,  and  assisted  him  in  carrying  out  this  trans- 
formation on  August  5,  1886.  To  insure  the  stability  of  the  new 
order  Nunez  was  elected  in  1886  for  a  further  term  of  six  years, 
and  reelected  for  six  years  more  in  1892.  He  died  in  September, 
1894,  and  was  succeeded  by  Vice-President  Miguel  Caro  (1892- 
1898).  The  aged  Sanclamente  was  elected  by  the  Conservatives 
in  1898,  but  the  real  power  was  in  the  hands  of  Vice-President 
Marroquin,  who  formally  deposed  Sanclamente  in  1900,  after 
putting  down  a  Liberal  insurrection  which  had  been  marked  by 
severe  fighting  on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  The  most  important 
event  of  his  administration  was  the  secession  of  Panama  in  No- 
vember, 1903,  and  the  recognition  and  protection  of  its  independ- 
ence by  the  United  States.  General  Reyes  was  elected  president  in 
1904  and  his  term  was  extended  for  ten  years  by  an  act  passed  in 
1905.  The  resignation  of  President  Rafael  Reyes,  on  July  26, 
1909,  inaugurated  a  new  order  of  things.  His  successor  was  ap- 
pointed on  August  3rd,  being  Gonzales  Tremau. 

The  mountainous  region  enjoys  a  temperate  climate,  and  the 
vast  plains  of  the  interior  are  tropical  in  character.  The  mountains 
are  rich  in  minerals  and  their  valleys  are  very  fertile,  but  the  ob- 
stacles to  internal  communication  offered  by  these  ranges,  12,000 
to  14,000  feet  in  altitude,  are  enormous.  The  total  area  of  the 
country  is  about  500,000  square  miles  and  the  estimated  popula- 
tion is  4,000,000. 

In  Venezuela  Guzman  Blanco's  power  lasted  from  1870  to 


046  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1876-1910 

1889.  He  held  the  presidential  office  in  person  during  the  years 
1 870- 1 877,  1 879- 1 884,  and  1 886- 1 887,  and  placed  his  creatures  in  it 
for  the  other  years  of  the  period,  controlling  Venezuelan  affairs 
from  Paris,  where  he  resided  as  minister  to  France.  His  rule  was 
favorable  to  the  economic  development  and  financial  strength  of 
the  country,  for  under  his  absolutism  Venezuela  enjoyed  the  longest 
period  of  internal  peace  in  her  history.  In  1889  his  nominee,  Dr. 
Rojas  Paul,  was  driven  from  power  by  General  Palacios,  and  in 
1892  Palacios  was  defeated  in  battle  and  deposed  by  General 
Joaquin  Crespo  (1892-1898).  Crespo  was  peaceably  succeeded  by 
Andrade  (1898)  and  was  killed  in  battle  in  the  following  year 
while  defending  Andrade's  government  against  a  new  insurrection. 
His  death  ensured  the  success  of  the  insurgents  and  the  succession 
of  their  leader,  Cipriano  Castro,  who  held  the  presidential  office, 
against  repeated  attempts  to  displace  him  by  force,  until  April  16, 
1906,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  General  Gomez. 

Venezuela  has  held  a  prominent  place  in  international  affairs 
during  the  last  decade.  The  boundary  dispute  with  British  Guiana 
and  the  intervention  of  the  United  States  are  described  in  a  subse- 
quent chapter.  The  chronic  revolutionary  turmoil  had  given  rise 
to  many  claims  by  foreign  residents  to  damages  for  injury  to  their 
property. 

Castro  would  give  no  satisfaction,  and  in  1902  Great  Brit- 
ain, Germany,  and  Italy  blockaded  La  Guayra  and  seized  the 
customs  house.  The  United  States  secured  an  agreement  by  all 
parties  to  refer  the  dispute  to  The  Hague  Tribunal,  all  other  nations 
to  be  allowed  to  prove  their  claims  also.  The  award  (February 
22,  1904)  gave  to  the  three  powers  who  had  used  force  a  prefer- 
ential right  to  30  per  cent,  of  the  customs  duties.  After  their 
claims  should  be  fully  satisfied  the  fund  could  be  applied  to  other 
claims.     The  United  States  was  requested  to  execute  the  award. 

Venezuela  is  a  federal  republic.  The  Congress  is  composed  of 
a  Senate  and  a  House  of  Representatives  chosen  in  the  same  manner 
as  in  the  United  States,  but  the  president  is  elected  by  a  Federal 
Council  of  nineteen  members  who  are  appointed  by  Congress  for 
a  term  of  two  years.  The  president  must  be  chosen  from  among 
the  members  of  the  council,  and  holds  his  office  for  six  years.  The 
constitution  encourages  revolution  by  according  belligerent  rights 
to  insurgents,  and  exempting  their  property  from  confiscation. 
That  these  prerogatives  have  been  fully  exercised,  witness  half  a 


^^^^   ANDINE  STATES,  VENEZUELA   24Ga 

hundred  insurrections  in  seventy  years.  The  revokitionary  habit 
receives  similar  encouragement  in  other  South  American  states. 

The  narrow  strip  of  low-lying  coast  lands,  and  the  plains  of 
the  interior,  are  unhealthful ;  but  between  them  is  a  region  of  moun- 
tain and  valley  well  fitted  for  European  settlement.  The  total 
area  of  the  country  is  about  600,000  square  miles  and  the  popula- 
tion is  estimated  at  2,500,000. 

Trouble  between  Venezuela  and  the  United  States  was 
brought  to  a  focus,  when  that  country  refused  to  accept  the  an- 
swer of  Castro  to  American  demands  for  arbitration,  in  July,  1907. 
In  January,  1908,  Castro  continued  his  headlong  career  towards 
ultimate  destruction  by  annulling  the  contract  betw^een  his  govern- 
ment and  an  English  corporation  known  as  the  Venezuelan  Salt 
Monopoly,  and  he  further  aroused  the  United  States,  by  continu- 
ing to  refuse  to  arbitrate.  In  the  meanwhile,  Venezuela  was 
crippled  by  the  payment  to  Mexico  of  the  first  installment  of  a 
loan  which  was  originally  made  by  that  country  to  Colombia,  but 
assumed  later  by  Venezuela.  On  April  21,  1908,  Venezuela  was 
visited  by  bubonic  plague,  and  the  port  of  La  Guayra  was  closed. 
The  relations  between  the  United  States  and  Venezuela  had  by 
this  time  become  so  strained  that  on  June  23,  1908,  the  secretary 
of  the  American  legation  left  Caracas,  and  on  July  9,  the  Vene- 
zuelan charge  d'  affaires  in  Washington  was  recalled.  Not  content 
with  having  estranged  the  United  States  and  England,  the  govern- 
ment made  things  so  atrocious  for  the  Dutch  settlers  that  on  July 
5,  1908,  they  appealed  to  their  home  government  for  redress.  This 
resulted  in  the  expelling  of  the  minister  of  the  Netherlands  from 
Caracas  by  Castro,  on  July  22,  1908,  and  the  Dutch  government 
immediately  responded  by  sending  a  government  cruiser  for  him. 
Castro,  seeing  in  this  an  insult,  demanded  an  apology  from  Hol- 
land, but  on  August  2^,  the  Dutch  foreign  office  refused  to  agree 
to  any  kind  of  compromise.  Castro  made  himself  still  more  un- 
popular by  stopping  passenger  traffic  between  his  country  and  the 
West  Indian  ports.  As  this  was  very  disastrous,  especially  to  the 
Dutch  merchant  vessels,  Holland  demanded  that  Castro  revoke 
this  embargo  before  November.  This  he  refused  to  do,  but  he 
later  modified  his  trans-shipment  decree,  so  as  to  permit  ships 
to  leave  Parian  ports  for  Trinidad.  As  Castro  refused  to  comply 
with  her  demand,  Holland  on  November  7,  1908,  revoked  her 
treaty  of  1894.    This  resulted  in  the  flight  of  Castro,  who  landed 


246b  SOUTH    AMERICA 

1910 

in  France  on  December  lo.  On  December  II,  the  Netherlands 
sent  a  war  ship  from  Willemstad,  cleared  for  action,  but  reassured 
by  the  promises  and  action  of  acting-president  Gomez,  the  warship 
was  recalled  on  December  25th.  Gomez  took  immediate  action 
against  the  partisans  of  Castro,  arresting  a  number,  and  cancelled 
Castro's  letter  of  credit.  With  the  inauguration  of  Gomez  on 
February  28,  1909,  a  new  condition  of  affairs  commenced,  and 
March  6,  1909,  he  signed  a  general  amnesty  treaty,  and  forbade 
Castro  to  return  to  Venezuela.  He  appointed  Sehor  Rojas  to 
represent  his  country  at  Washington,  and  cordial  diplomatic  rela- 
tions were  resumed  between  the  United  States  and  Venezuela. 

Other  countries  took  measures  to  show  their  disapproval  of 
Castro,  and  on  April  6,  1909,  Great  Britain  refused  to  permit  the 
exile  to  land  at  the  port  of  Pjani.  On  April  10  Castro  was  expelled 
from  Martineau  and  on  the  nth  of  the  same  month,  Denmark 
declared  he  must  not  land  at  any  of  her  West  Indian  ports.  Castro 
was  finally  repudiated  by  the  rejection  on  July  30,  by  the  congress 
of  his  country,  of  his  report  in  which  he  endeavored  to  justify 
himself  for  his  arbitrary  actions.  In  spite  of  the  prompt  and 
salutary  action  of  President  Gomez,  Venezuela  continued  to  be 
in  a  state  of  unrest,  and  many  of  the  citizens  were  arrested  during 
the  latter  part  of  1909.  During  December,  Venezuela  brought  to 
a  termination  the  diplomatic  mission  to  France;  that  country 
having  insisted  upon  arbitration  of  matters  relating  to  the  claims 
French  citizens  had  against  the  country  on  account  of  having  been 
expelled  by  Castro.  In  spite  of  his  many  defeats  and  the  general  exe- 
cration of  him  by  other  countries,  Castro  has  not  yet  given  up  hope 
of  regaining  his  power,  and,  is  at  the  present  time  continuing  his  in- 
trigues for  re-instatement. 


BRAZIL,  1876-1910 


Chapter  XVI 

BRAZIL.    1876-1910 

THE  history  of  Brazil  for  the  last  thirty  years  is  dominated 
by  three  great  facts :  the  gradual  abolition  of  slavery,  the 
encouragement  of  European  colonization,  and  the  estab- 
h'shment  of  republican  government. 

The  slavery  question  was  raised  in  1850,  and  remained  unsolved 
until  1888.  Emperor  Pedro  favored  abolition  from  humanitarian 
motives,  but  as  a  constitutional  sovereign  he  had  to  reckon  with 
powerful  interests,  and  only  by  degrees  did  Portuguese  America 
rid  itself  of  the  shame  of  continuing  slavery  in  the  full  light  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  In  1852  the  slave  trade  was  abolished  and  the 
minister,  Eusebio  de  Quieroz,  took  measures  to  suppress  it.  But 
though  officially  abolished,  the  trade  was  in  fact  kept  up  with 
the  Portuguese  colonies  in  Africa  until  1858.  Not  until  that  time 
did  it  entirely  cease. 

The  abolitionist  party,  of  which  the  emperor  was  in  fact  an 
ally,  was  not  satisfied  W'ith  having  cut  off  one  of  the  sources  of 
slave  labor.  Measures  favorable  to  the  slaves  were  taken,  be- 
ginning in  1864,  and  Dom  Pedro's  initiative  secured  the  passage 
of  a  law  abolishing  slavery  in  principle,  but  continuing  it  tempo- 
rarily until  a  method  of  gradual  emancipation  should  be  devised. 
Its  devising  was  postponed  (April,  1866)  by  the  war  with  Para- 
guay. But  the  emperor  did  not  dare  to  assume  the  responsibility 
for  the  complete  abolition  which  he  would  have  welcomed.  Per- 
haps he  feared  the  loss  of  his  empire.  In  any  case  the  three  acts 
emancipating  the  negroes  were  adopted  during  his  absence  in 
Europe.  Nevertheless,  when  the  French  Society  for  the  Abolition 
of  Slavery  sent  him  an  address  in  July,  1866,  Pedro  replied  that 
his  government  would  take  up,  as  soon  as  circumstances  would  per- 
mit, a  measure  "  demanded  by  the  spirit  of  Christianity." 

In  1 87 1  the  government  won  its  first  success.  The  prime 
minister,  J.  M.  da  Silva  Paranhos,  Viscount  of  Rio  Branco,  on 
September  21   secured  the  passage  of  a  law  which  abolished  slavery 

S48 


BRAZIL  S49 

1876-1888 

in  principle  and  removed  certain  taxes  on  the  emancipation  of  ne- 
groes. This  law  of  Rio  Eranco  was  also  called  the  law  of  "  free 
birth,"  for  all  children  thereafter  born  of  negro  mothers  were  to 
be  free,  though  they  were  to  remain  under  the  power  of  the  mother's 
master  until  twenty-one  years  of  age  to  compensate  him  for  the 
expense  of  their  education. 

Thus  the  two  sources  of  the  institution,  the  slave  trade  and 
slave  birth,  were  removed ;  but  there  were  many  people  in  Brazil 
who  thought  it  unjust  to  allow  the  distinction  to  continue  between 
slave  parents  and  free  children  in  negro  families.  A  great  number 
of  proprietors  liberated  their  blacks,  two  provinces  freed  all  their 
slaves,  and  negroes  still  held  in  slavery  in  adjoining  provinces  fled 
thither  amid  the  applause  of  the  abolitionists,  and  in  spite  of  the 
efforts  of  the  authorities  to  prevent  it.  Then,  in  1885,  the  ministry 
decreed  that  all  slaves  under  sixty  years  of  age  were  free.  One 
last  step  remained,  and  on  May  13,  1888,  the  speech  from  the 
throne  of  the  Princess  Regent  gave  notice  that  this  step  was  to 
be  taken.  She  added :  "  To  the  honor  of  Brazil,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  national  sentiment  and  individual  liberality,  the  extinction 
of  the  servile  element  has  made  such  progress  that  it  is  to-day 
a  hope  acclaimed  by  all  classes  and  by  admirable  examples  of  un- 
selfishness on  the  part  of  the  owners."  In  the  chamber  of  deputies 
Joaquin  Nabuco  said  with  some  exaggeration :  "  The  present  gen- 
eration has  never  been  so  powerfully  moved,  and  for  a  parallel  we 
must  recall  the  emotion  our  fathers  experienced  at  the  proclama- 
tion of  our  independence.  For  us,  Brazilians,  1888  is  a  greater 
date  than  1789  for  France.  Literally  a  new  country  is  beginning 
for  us." 

On  May  13  the  Senate  followed  the  lower  house  in  voting 
for  emancipation  and  the  Princess  signed  the  act  with  a  pen  of  gold 
which  had  been  offered  to  her  for  that  purpose.  The  Argentine 
Republic  and  all  the  great  cities  throughout  America  celebrated  the 
event  as  joyfully  as  the  population  of  Rio,  and  distant  France  took 
part  in  the  rejoicing  occasioned  by  this  advance  of  civilization. 
The  abolition  of  slavery  has  not  had  such  important  economic  re- 
sults as  might  have  been  expected.  It  is  true  that  for  the  moment 
the  blacks  flocked  to  the  cities  and  coffee  culture  was  abandoned, 
but  in  general  they  dreaded  the  competition  of  white  laborers  and 
entered  the  service  of  their  old  masters  as  wage  earners.  As  a 
result  of  the  abolition  of  slavery  the  Brazilian  government  has  en- 


250  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1876-1906 

couraged  foreign  immigration,  and  strong  "  colonies  "  have  been 
formed  on  Brazilian  soil  and  subject  to  Brazilian  rule,  chiefly  by 
Italians  and  Germans. 

German  immigration  to  Brazil,  though  important  only  in 
recent  years,  began  early  in  the  nineteenth  century.  German 
officers  and  soldiers  who  had  entered  the  service  of  Pedro  I. 
against  Portugal  remained  in  the  country  after  its  independence 
was  secured.  From  1820  to  1830  7000  immigrants  arrived.  After 
non-Protestants  acquired  civil  rights  (1861)  and  slavery  became 
a  tottering  institution  soon  to  be  suppressed,  this  immigration  in- 
creased. Companies  were  formed  at  Hamburg  (1853)  and  Rio 
(1855)  to  aid  the  movement.  In  1857-1858  33,000  Germans  from 
Pomerania,  Prussia,  and  the  Rhine  Provinces  landed  in  South 
America,  But  the  companies  exploited  the  emigrants  without 
mercy  and  raised  a  powerful  opposition  against  themselves  among 
the  members  of  the  German  families,  so  that  the  Prussian  and  Bra- 
zilian governments  were  forced  to  interfere  and  suppress  what  had 
become  a  sort  of  white  slave  trade. 

The  Italian  immigration  is  equally  large.  In  1887  Brazil  re- 
ceived 31,445  Italians;  in  1888,  97,730;  in  1889,  65,000;  in  1902, 
29,000.  There  are  to-day  1,100,000  Italians  in  the  country.  Un- 
like the  Germans,  they  do  not  form  compact  agricultural  colonies, 
but  are  scattered,  and  for  the  most  part  employed  in  the  indus- 
tries. In  the  province  of  San  Paulo  they  are  more  compact  and 
cultivate  the  soil,  forming  a  colony  of  650,000.  Italian  immigra- 
tion is  recruited  in  Lombardy,  Venetia,  Tuscany,  Calabria,  and  at 
Palermo.  Not  all  the  immigrants  are  in  the  same  economic  con- 
dition. Some  are  enrolled  by  contracts  of  service  with  Brazilian 
masters  and  are  miserably  lodged  and  nourished.  Others  settle  in 
colonies  which  they  found  in  cooperation  with  the  government. 
These  are  relatively  well  off  and  receive  an  allotment  of  land  45 
to  62  acres  in  area,  and  worth  $60  to  $100.  The  Bureau  of 
Statistics  at  Rome  tries  to  direct  Italian  emigration  to  the 
southern  states  of  the  republic.^ 

Hereafter  immigration  may  become  more  important.  From 
1864  to  1866  the  number  of  immigrants  rose  from  1500  to  1800  a 

1  See  the  Bulletin  de  I'lnstittit  International  de  Statistique  de  Rome  for 
Italy;  and  for  Germany  the  Monatsheft  cur  Statistik  des  deutschen  Reichs; 
also  the  article  "  Bresil"  in  the  "Grande  Encyclopcdie."  M.  Meuriot's  article  in 
the  Revue  de  Geographic  for  January,  1892,  has  been  drawn  upon  in  pre- 
paring a  part  of  this  chapter. 


BRAZIL  261 

1876-1906 

year.  In  1862  there  were  54,000  persons  of  German  blood  in 
Brazil;  in  1876,  110,000;  in  1892,  240,000  (half  Catholics,  half 
Protestants).  This  group  is  rather  compact  and  includes  colonies: 
(i)  In  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  a  region  where  the  average  tem- 
perature is  62°  to  84°  Fahrenheit,  and  hence  can  be  easily  endured 
by  Europeans.  Two  German  newspapers  are  published  here.  In 
this  province  alone  there  are  160,000  Germans,  forming  a  colony 
with  an  area  of  granted  lands  equal  to  that  of  a  French  de- 
partment. Some  Westphalians  exploit  the  coal  mines  at  San 
Jeromnio. 

(2)  In  the  province  of  Santa  Catharina.  Here  the  two 
principal  centers  are  Blumenan  and  Dona  Francisca.  A  German 
newspaper  has  been  published  here  since  1881,  and  the  German 
population  is  about  60,000. 

(3)  In  Parana,  San  Paulo,  Minas  Geraes,  and  Matto  Grosso, 
30,000  Germans  in  the  midst  of  Brazilians,  Spaniards,  Portuguese, 
and  Italians, 

The  German  settlements  in  Brazil  have  created  a  commerce 
with  Germany,  and  are  in  close  relations  with  the  mother  country. 
This  ethnic  element,  modern  in  character  and  new  in  Brazilian 
history,  may  some  day  become  a  separatist  element.  The  Cologne 
Gaaette  remarked  in  1890  that  there  might  one  day  be  an  inde- 
pendent Brazilian  German  state  and  that  in  that  event  there  were 
25,000  fellow-countrymen  in  Uruguay  to  join  it. 

To  sum  up:  Brazil  was  in  a  prosperous  condition.  Although 
it  had  assumed  a  part  of  the  Portuguese  debt  at  the  time  of  inde- 
pendence, the  finances  were  on  a  good  basis,  expenses  were  mod- 
erate, the  army  and  navy  were  neither  large  nor  expensive,  public 
education  and  public  works  did  not  impose  ruinous  burdens,  and 
the  well-adjusted  budget  showed  a  surplus.  Foreigners  readily 
gave  financial  credit  to  this  state,  the  most  orderly  and  without 
doubt  the  best  administered  in  all  South  America.  Such  was  the 
condition  of  Brazil  in  1889  when  a  sudden  revolutionary  outbreak 
overthrew  the  monarchy. 

The  old  emperor  was  a  Liberal  in  politics  and  was  popular, 
but  it  was  generally  felt  that  under  a  successor  the  imperial  form 
of  government  might  be  irksome.  Moreover,  Pedro  gave  but 
little  attention  to  the  public  business,  which  was  therefore  not  well 
administered.  Malcontents  formed  combinations.  The  army 
officers,  who  had  been  neglected  by  the  emperor  and  were  hostile 


052  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1889 

to  Count  d'En.  heir  presumptive  to  the  crown ;  provincials  who  de- 
sired decentraHzation ;  many  landed  proprietors  who  resented  the 
abolition  of  slavery;  and  finally  republican  and  federalist  states 
rights  doctrinaires;  all  agreed  in  dreading  the  accession  of  Count 
d"Eu. 

There  were  many  converts  to  liberalism  in  the  empire,  and 
they  had  shown  their  strength  in  the  anti-slavery  agitation.  Along 
with  liberalism  the  positivism  of  Auguste  Compte  had  won  wide 
acceptance  through  the  works  of  Benjamin  Constant,  the  chief 
apostle  of  this  political  sect.  Its  doctrines  spread  in  the  military 
institutes,  and  their  influence  on  the  eve  of  the  revolution  was 
shown  by  decrees  looking  to  the  separation  of  church  and  state, 
the  institution  of  a  national  holiday  on  July  14,  and  the  adoption 
of  the  mottoes :  "  Order  and  progress  "  inscribed  on  the  flags  and 
"  greetings  and  brotherhood "  in  official  correspondence.^  The 
revolution  was  preceded  by  a  parliamentary  contest.  A  Conserva- 
tive ministry  under  Joao  Alfredo  was  in  ofifice  at  the  beginning 
of  1889.  Though  it  had,  in  the  preceding  year,  brought  about  the 
abolition  of  slavery,  it  was  sharply  attacked  by  the  Liberals.  Dom 
Pedro  refused  to  dissolve  the  Congress  at  the  request  of  the  min- 
istry, the  Conservatives  were  unable  to  form  a  government,  and 
power  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Liberals,  who  got  rid  of  their 
adversaries  by  dissolution,  which  they  had  known  how  to  get  from 
the  emperor. 

The  Republican  party  profited  by  this  state  of  things,  and 
prospered  under  the  leadership  of  two  journalists,  Ruy  Barbosa 
and  Quintino  Bocayuva,  the  editors  of  the  Diario  de  Noiicias  and 
O  Pais.  There  were  Republican  demonstrations  on  the  street,  and 
the  prefect  of  Rio  was  obliged  to  make  an  order  forbidding  shouts 
of  "  Long  live  the  Republic,  Down  wnth  the  Monarchy  "  in  public. 
The  Liberals  carried  the  elections,  leaving  only  seven  seats  to  the 
Conservatives  and  two  to  the  Republicans. 

Apparently  there  was  nothing  to  criticise  in  an  emperor  who 
had  favored  the  Liberals,  and  had  called  them  to  power  in  response 
to  public  opinion.  But  the  army  was  very  hostile  to  the  dynasty 
and  was  distrusted.  It  was  proud  of  its  achievements  in  the  war 
with  Paraguay,  but  the  emperor  showed  it  no  favor  and  was 
influenced  to  take  the  fatal  step  of  exiling  the  discontented  regi- 
ments whose  officers  were  opposed  to  him  to  distant  and  some- 
2  Adapted   from  "  Apostolat  Positiviste  au   Brcsil,"  by    Miguel   Lamos. 


BRAZIL  253 

1889-1893 

times  unhealthful  provinces,  as  in  Matto  Grosso  or  on  the  upper 
Amazon.  The  RepiibHcans  took  advantage  of  the  sentiment  of 
the  army  and  made  alhes  of  the  miHtary  chiefs.  A  large  number 
of  general  officers  had  already  been  sent  off  when  the  turn  of  Ad- 
miral van  den  Kolk  came.  At  last  Marshal  Deodora  da  Fonseca, 
who  had  long  been  in  opposition,  was  under  orders  to  embark  with 
several  battalions  under  his  command.  After  an  understanding 
had  been  reached,  the  revolution  was  quickly  accomplished.  Mar- 
shal Fonseca,  Benjamin  Constant,  and  the  Republicans  seized  the 
ministers  and  forced  Dom  Pedro,  who  had  come  from  Petropolis, 
to  sign  an  act  of  abdication.  The  imperial  family  was  put  on 
board  a  ship  bound  for  Lisbon,  where  they  arrived  December  17. 
The  people  had  not  stirred.  A  provisional  government,  composed 
of  Marshal  Deodora  da  Fonseca  (President),  B.  Constant  (War), 
Admiral  van  den  Kolk  (Navy),  Ruy  Barbosa  (Treasury),  and  Q. 
Bocayuva  (Foreign  Affairs),  proclaimed  the  republic. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  new  government  was  to  dismiss 
public  officers  who  had  been  appointed  under  the  empire.  More 
than  half  the  governors  of  provinces  in  1893  were  soldiers.  The 
country  was  governed  by  soldiers,  or  rather  by  officers,  the  only 
element  of  political  importance  in  a  volunteer  force  composed 
chiefly  of  mulattoes.  The  government  hastened  to  raise  the  pay  of 
the  army.  To  satisfy  the  Republicans  universal  suffrage  was  pro- 
claimed and  notice  was  given  that  a  constitutional  convention  would 
be  called.  The  ministry,  composed  of  soldiers  and  men  of  revo- 
lutionary ideas,  took  energetic  measures  and  executed  them  rapidly. 
Like  every  new  government  it  met  resistance,  which  it  crushed  by 
arrests,  banishments,  the  suppression  of  newspapers,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  military  court.  It  recognized  civil  marriage  and 
decreed  the  separation  of  church  and  state. 

The  provisional  government,  declaring  that  it  "  was  created 
by  the  army  and  navy  in  the  name  of  the  nation,"  promulgated 
(June  22)  a  constitution  modeled  on  that  of  the  United  States. 
The  head  of  the  nation  is  responsible  for  his  official  acts.  Cabinet 
ministers  are  excluded  from  Congress.  The  president  is  elected 
by  indirect  vote  for  a  term  of  five  years  and  the  two  houses  by 
universal  suffrage  for  three  years.  In  the  lower  house  there  is 
one  member  for  70,000  inhabitants.  There  are  three  senators  from 
each  state,  and  members  of  both  houses  are  paid  for  their  services. 

The  Congress  of  1890,  composed  of  members  summoned  by 


254  SOUTH     AMERICA 

1890-1897 

the  government,  worked  upon  the  constitution.  It  decided  that 
the  president  should  not  be  reeHgible  and  that  no  member  of  his 
family  could  be  a  candidate  to  succeed  him.  The  judiciary  power 
is  vested  in  a  supreme  court.  The  constitution  is  federal,  demo- 
cratic, and  non-sectarian.  The  style  of  the  nation  is  "  The  United 
States  of  Brazil."  (There  are  twenty-one  states  in  the  Union, 
including  the  federal  district  of  Rio  de  Janiero.)  State  legisla- 
tures and  governors  are  elected  by  direct  vote.  Each  state  adopts 
its  own  democratic  constitution  as  it  pleases.  To  exclude  the  ne- 
groes from  the  exercise  of  the  right  to  vote,  the  ability  to  read 
and  write  is  required. 

Fonseca  did  not  long  remain  in  power.  On  June  15  he 
opened  the  session  of  Congress,  but  dissension  soon  arose  between 
him  and  the  legislative  power.  On  November  3  he  dissolved  Con- 
gress and  proclaimed  martial  law;  the  provinces  were  disaffected; 
Rio  Grande  do  Sol  rose  in  arms;  the  navy  declared  against  the 
president,  and  in  view  of  these  grave  difficulties  Fonseca  resigned. 
General  Floriano  Peixoto,  vice-president  of  the  republic  and  presi- 
dent of  the  senate,  succeeded  to  the  presidency  in  accordance  with 
the  constitution.  He  had  supported  the  provisional  government, 
had  been  elected  as  a  representative  of  the  province  of  Alagoas,  and 
in  1 89 1  had  become  vice-president  of  the  republic. 

Peixoto  followed  the  evil  example  of  his  predecessor  and  ruled 
despotically.  On  September  6,  1893,  the  naval  squadron  in  the 
harbor  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  revolted,  under  Admiral  Custodio  de 
Mello,  and  with  the  aid  of  a  rising  in  the  south  menaced  the  city 
and  defied  the  president  for  six  months.  The  turning  point  of 
the  struggle  was  the  action  of  Admiral  Benham,  U.  S.  N.,  who  by 
a  show  of  superior  force  compelled  the  insurgents  to  permit  mer- 
chant ships  of  the  United  States  to  unload  at  the  wharves  of  Rio. 
The  rebellion  was  finally  suppressed  in  March,  1894,  and  Peixoto 
took  a  terrible  vengeance  on  his  enemies,  who  were  summarily  tried 
by  court  martial  and  shot  wholesale. 

While  the  insurrection  was  still  active  Dr.  Prudente  de  Moraes 
Barros  had  been  elected  to  the  presidency  by  the  influence  of 
Peixoto,  and  was  inaugurated  November  15,  1894.  He  reversed 
the  policy  of  his  predecessor,  restored  constitutional  methods, 
granted  amnesty  to  the  late  rebels,  and  by  1896  had  pacified  the 
country.  He  was  bitterly  opposed  by  former  partisans  of  Peixoto, 
and  his  life  was  attempted  November  4,  1897.     He  united  firmness 


BRAZIL  254a 

1897-1910 

with  conciliation  and  did  not  hesitate  to  put  down  revolutionary- 
outbreaks.  A  costly  episode  of  his  administration  was  a  war 
with  the  mixed  bloods  of  the  interior  called  Jagunqos,  They 
were  led  by  a  white  man,  Antonio  Maciel  or  Conselheiro,  a 
strange  figure,  half  renegade  and  half  prophet,  who  roused  his 
people  to  such  a  pitch  of  fanaticism  that  the  national  government 
had  to  use  against  them  14,000  men  and  sacrifice  over  5000  lives 
before  they  could  be  suppressed.  Barros  chose  as  his  successor 
Dr.  Manuel  Campos  Salles  (1898-1902)  whose  title  received 
formal  sanction  by  popular  election  in  the  usual  course.  He 
was  followed  (1902-1906)  by  Dr.  Francisco  Rodriguez  Alves. 
Dr.  Alfonso  Penna  was  elected  March  i,  1906,  and  inaugurated 
November  15;  one  of  his  first  acts  after  coming  into  power,  being 
to  authorize  the  loan  of  $50,000,000  to  Rio  Janeiro.  In  March, 
1907,  some  trouble  arose  because  of  the  heavy  immigration  from 
the  Baltic  provinces  to  Brazil,  but  it  was  eventually  settled. 
President  Penna  reduced  the  tariff  upon  a  number  of  United  States 
products  in  return  for  considerable  favors  extended  the  coffee 
exporters,  and  also  as  a  mark  of  esteem  to  the  American  fleet, 
which  reached  Brazil  in  January,  1908.  On  October  2nd  of  that 
same  year,  Penna  signed  a  general  treaty  with  Argentina,  and 
this  received  the  ratification  of  the  United  States  on  December 
loth.  Brazil  and  Uruguay  signed  a  treaty  on  November  7,  1909, 
which  gave  the  latter  country  valuable  concessions.  Another 
ratification  of  boundary  lines  was  made  January  11,  1910,  when 
Peru  sanctioned  the  boundary  treaty  with  Brazil. 

In  July  of  the  same  year  a  Pan-American  Conference  took 
place  in  Rio  Janeiro,  representatives  from  all  the  American  re- 
publics being  present.  Elihu  Root,  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United 
States,  was  making  an  official  visit  to  South  America  at  the  time, 
and,  though  present  at  but  one  meeting,  and  that  an  extraordinary 
session,  summoned  to  hear  his  speech,  directed  the  policy  of  the 
United  States  delegates.  Many  measures  for  the  development  of 
the  wonderful  resources  of  South  America  were  discussed,  and 
the  old  feeling  of  distrust  for  the  policy  of  the  United  States 
seemed  to  pass  away. 

Economic  progress  in  Brazil  has  been  checked  by  war  and 
political  turmoil.  Financial  stress  was  induced  by  the  long  period 
of  war  (1908-1894),  and  by  mismanagement.  The  currency  was 
depreciated,  new  and  heavy  taxes  were  laid,  and  in  1898  an  exten- 


254b  SOUTH    AMERICA 

1897-1910 

sion  of  credit  was  granted  to  the  republic  by  the  Rothschilds.  Bra- 
zil has  an  area  of  3,200,000  square  miles,  and  the  population  is: 
whites,  5,000,000;  half-breeds,  6,500,000;  negroes,  3,500,000;  In- 
dians 400,000.  Immigration  is  very  large.  There  are  now  1,000,- 
000  Italians  in  the  country,  many  thousands  of  Germans,  and  nu- 
merous Portuguese.  The  Italians  and  Germans  adhere  to  their 
several  customs,  but  the  Portuguese  are  readily  assimilated.  There 
are  only  9,000  miles  of  railway  in  the  vast  territory,  and  these  are 
poorly  equipped  and  administered,  as  are  the  telegraph  lines.  The 
magnificent  system  of  communication  afforded  by  the  navigable 
rivers  is  neglected.  In  1889  there  were  only  300,000  children  in 
the  primary  schools,  and  in  1890,  8,300,000  of  the  population  were 
illiterate.  The  people  are  superstitious,  the  courts  corrupt,  and  the 
local  governments  expensive  and  inefficient. 


STATES  OF  THE  LA  PLATA,  1876-1910 


Chapter    XVII 

THE    STATES    OF    THE    LA    PLATA.     1876-1910 

GENERAL  MITRE,  who  had  revolted  against  President 
■  Sarmiento  of  Argentina  (1868-1874),  repeated  the  offense 
against  his  successor,  Avellaneda,  who  put  down  the  insur- 
rection and  captured  its  leader.  But  Buenos  Ayres  rose  in  behalf  of 
the  Nationalists  (the  old  Unitarian  party)  and  the  government  was 
driven  from  that  city  to  Belgrano,  whence  it  established  a  blockade 
of  the  port  of  Buenos  Ayres  and  thus  compelled  the  rebels  to  submit. 
When  General  J,  A.  Roca  (1880-1886)  succeeded  Avellaneda  the 
strife  between  Buenos  Ayres  and  the  provinces  broke  out  again, 
but  was  promptly  suppressed.  Roca  w^as  succeeded  (October  12, 
1886)  by  the  former  governor  of  Cordoba,  Dr.  Miguel  Juarez 
Celman,  who  was  forced  by  a  popular  uprising  to  resign  (July  30, 
1890),  leaving  the  vice-president,  Carlos  Pellegrini,  to  complete 
the  unexpired  term.  During  Pellegrini's  presidency  the  country 
suffered  from  a  great  economic  crisis,  which  followed  a  period  of 
great  prosperity  and  heavy  immigration  aided  by  subsidies  from 
the  government  to  immigration  companies.  In  this  manner  the 
government  had  spent  considerabe  sums.  The  number  of  Euro- 
pean immigrants,  chiefly  Italians,  Spaniards,  and  Basques,  was: 
6300  in  1883;  77,000  in  1884;  108,000  in  1885;  180,000  in  1886; 
290,000  in  1889;  57,000  in  1902,  and  125,000  in  1904. 

At  first  all  went  well ;  agricultural  colonies  were  founded,  sheep 
were  raised  in  large  numbers,  railway  building  was  undertaken  on 
a  large  scale,  and  numerous  mining  concessions  were  granted. 
But  business  ran  into  speculation  and  became  unsound.  In  1890 
gold  disappeared  from  circulation  and  rose  to  a  premium  of  250. 
European  countries,  which  had  accepted  Argentina  paper  in  vast 
quantities,  were  uneasy,  became  cautious,  and  refused  further  credit. 
Matters  went  from  bad  to  worse  in  Argentina.  To  prevent  dis- 
order the  government  took  measures  that  were  often  inconsistent. 

256 


STATES     OF    THE     LA    PLATA  257 

1876-1910 

It  closed  the  stock  exchange,  sold  the  public  lands,  required  the  pay- 
ment of  customs  duties  in  gold,  etc.  Meanwhile  the  foreign  spec- 
ulation in  Argentine  railway  enterprises,  mines,  and  industries 
brought  on  financial  catastrophes  which  aggravated  the  situation. 

The  shock  of  the  economic  crisis  in  the  Argentine  Republic 
was  quickly  felt  in  Europe.  The  famous  and  long-established  Eng- 
lish banking  house  of  the  Barings,  which  had  floated  most  of  the 
Argentine  loans  in  Europe,  was  forced  into  liquidation  in  Novem- 
ber, and  all  the  financial  markets  of  the  world  felt  the  shock  in 
turn.  An  international  financial  syndicate  was  formed  to  secure 
from  the  Argentine  government  the  fulfillment  of  its  obligations. 
Pellegrini  had  not  retained  the  public  confidence  and  the  latter  part 
of  his  term  was  marked  by  political  unrest  and  threats  of  revolu- 
tion. In  1892  Dr.  Luis  Saenz  Pefia,  with  the  powerful  aid  of  Pelle- 
grini's influence,  was  elected  to  the  presidency.  He  was  a  highly 
respected  jurist  with  no  political  connections  and  attempted  to 
give  the  country  a  non-partisan  administration.  The  experiment 
was  a  failure,  the  president  was  utterly  without  support  in  Con- 
gress, government  became  impossible,  and  Pefia  resigned  in  1895. 
He  was  succeeded  by  the  vice-president,  Dr.  Jose  Uriburu,  who 
also  had  no  political  connections,  having  been  absent  from  the 
country  as  a  diplomat  for  twenty  years  before  his  election  to  the 
vice-presidency.  But  he  received  the  powerful  support  of  Roca  and 
Pellegrini,  and  thus  gave  the  country  a  firm  and  moderate  ad- 
ministration. In  1898  General  Julio  Roca  w-as  elected  to  the 
presidency  for  the  second  time.  His  administration  was  dignified, 
firm,  and  on  the  whole  very  successful.  In  1904  he  was  succeeded 
by  Dr.  Miguel  Quintana  and  at  the  same  time  Dr.  Jose  Figueros 
Alcorta  became  vice-president.  Quintana  died  in  March,  1906, 
and  Alcorta  then  became  president. 

The  financial  difficulties  of  the  country  continued.  Paper 
money  was  issued  as  a  measure  of  relief,  but  the  notes  were 
at  a  discount  and  the  situation  was  soon  worse  than  ever.  In 
January,  1891,  the  country  could  not  meet  payments  due  on  ac- 
count of  the  public  debt.  In  April  wild  panic  ensued  and  im- 
portant local  banks  failed,  including  the  Banco  Nacional.  A  new 
national  bank  w^as  created  in  October,  authorized  to  issue  notes 
to  the  value  of  $50,000,000.  Nevertheless  the  finances  slowly  im- 
proved, and  in  1898  the  foreign  debt  of  the  provinces  was  assumed 
by  the  federal  government.     The  survival  of  unsound  financial 


258  S  O  U  T  H    A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

1876-1910 

principles  is  attested  by  a  law  passed  in   1899  to  prevent  a  fall 
in  the  price  of  gold  by  fixing  the  premium  at  127. 

Argentina  has  an  area  of  about  1,100,000  square  miles,  and  a 
population  of  6,000,000,  which  is  centered  in  the  middle  part  on  ac- 
count of  its  extreme  fertility.  Large  areas,  as  large  as  the  states 
of  Illinois  or  Wisconsin,  contain  not  more  than  10,000.  The 
forests  are  producing  an  export  trade  of  $6,000,000;  the  cattle 
products  are  worth  from  $80,000,000  to  $90,000,000  annually ;  the 
agricultural  exports  equal  $158,000,000,  while  other  exports  are 
about  $3,000,000.  The  total  imports  are  $318,000,000  annually, 
while  the  total  exports  are  $268,000,000,  or  a  per  capita  exportation 
of  $65,  which  is  twice  as  large  as  that  of  the  United  States.  Great 
Britain  is  the  largest  buyer  of  these  exports;  the  United  States 
second ;  Germany  third,  and  France  fourth.  There  is  soft  coal  and 
petroleum  in  abundance,  although  but  little  has  as  yet  been  pro- 
duced. England  has  invested  largely  in  railroads  in  Argentina; 
France  is  also  interested  in  them  and  there  are  the  following  trunk 
lines ;  Buenos  Ayres  and  Rosario,  the  Central  Argentina  and 
Central  de  Cordova,  the  Buenos  Ayres  &  Pacific  and  the  Southern 
Railway.  Argentina  is  ranked  among  the  first  wheat  producing 
countries  of  the  world. 

Buenos  Ayres,  the  capital,  ranks  as  one  of  the  large  centers  of 
the  world,  its  population  being  1,146,865.  Italy,  Spain,  Russia, 
Syria,  France,  Austria,  Germany,  Great  Britain,  Portugal,  China, 
Japan  and  Africa  as  well  as  Latin-American  states  all  sending 
their  quota  to  swell  the  population.  The  birth  rate  is  also  very 
high.  There  are  less  than  300  Americans  in  Buenos  Ayres,  for  prior 
to  the  extradition  treaty  of  the  United  States  with  Argentina,  which 
was  signed  September  26,  1896,  approved  December  29,  1898,  and 
exchanged  June  2,  1900,  this  city  was  the  refuge  of  those  under 
the  ban  of  the  law.    The  present  president  is  Dr.  Jose  F.  Alcorta. 

January  26,  1908,  was  a  memorable  day  at  Buenos  Ayres  for  it 
was  on  that  date  that  the  American  fleet  arrived  in  its  harbor.  On 
May  I,  1909,  in  the  midst  of  the  May  day  festivities,  five  persons 
were  killed,  and  many  wounded  in  a  riot.  Naturally,  there  were  a 
number  of  arrests,  and  as  a  protest  against  the  action,  a  strike  was 
called  two  days  later  and  on  the  following  day,  six  hundred  people 
were  arrested.  Trouble  continued  and  the  chief  of  police  and  the 
police  secretary  were  killed  on  November  14,  1909.  On  August  8, 
1909,  a  treaty  was  signed  by  Argentina  and  the  United  States  which 


STATES    OF    THE    LAPLATA  259 

1876-1910 

provided  for  reciprocity  and  naturalization.  During-  the  early  part 
of  1910,  Argentina  signed  contracts  with  American  ship  builders 
for  the  construction  of  two  first  class  battleships  to  add  to  her 
navy. 

In  Uruguay  the  dictatorship  of  Latorre  lasted  for  three  years 
(1876-1879).  He  then  tried  to  rule  as  a  constitutional  president, 
but  resigned  in  disgust  March  13,  1880,  declaring  that  the  coun- 
try was  ungovernable.  Dr.  Francisco  A.  Vidal  was  elected  to  suc- 
ceed him,  but  the  real  power  was  General  Maximo  Santos,  who  was 
formally  made  president  when  Vidal  resigned,  March  i,  1882.  San- 
tos procured  the  second  election  of  Vidal  in  1886,  and  within  a 
few  months  these  two  statesmen  reenacted  the  comedy  of  Vidal's 
resignation  and  Santos's  election  to  fill  the  unexpired  term.  Santos's 
government  was  a  military  despotism,  and  aroused  such  discon- 
tent that  he  was  forced  to  resign  on  November  18,  1886,  after 
being  wounded  by  a  would-be  assassin  in  August.  Maximo  Tajes, 
who  filled  out  the  term  of  Santos,  ruled  wisely  and  maintained 
order  until  March  i,  1890,  when  Dr.  Julio  Herrera  y  Obes  was 
chosen  to  succeed  him. 

Under  Herrera  and  Juan  Idiarte  Borda,  who  followed  him  in 
ofiice  (March  21,  1894),  the  old  regime  of  extravagance,  inefficiency, 
and  corruption  was  renewed,  bringing  forth  the  inevitable  insur- 
rection in  1897.  In  these  two  administrations  Uruguay  suffered 
from  the  economic  crisis  which  overwhelmed  Argentina.  The  two 
nations  had  been  guilty  of  like  sins  and  now  paid  like  penalties. 
The  interest  on  the  public  debt  was  defaulted  by  Uruguay  in  1891. 
Borda  was  at  last  assassinated  (August  25,  1897),  and  the  president 
of  the  senate,  Juan  Lindolfo  Cuestas,  who  succeeded  him,  had  to 
face  a  difficult  situation.  The  insurgents  were  still  in  arms,  and 
discontent  was  general.  Cuestas  ruled  with  moderation  and  firm- 
ness. Peace  was  restored  by  granting  amnesty  to  the  insurgents, 
and  the  flagrant  abuses  which  had  prevailed  in  the  two  preceding 
administrations  were  reformed.  He  met  with  much  factional  oppo- 
sition and  did  not  hesitate  to  proclaim  himself  dictator  in  1898,  but 
resigned  the  office  in  the  following  year  and  was  reelected  presi- 
dent. He  reduced  the  strength  of  the  army,  thus  provoking  a 
revolt  among  the  troops,  which  was  suppressed  July  i,  1899.  An 
unsuccessful  insurrection  occurred  in  1903.  The  present  president 
is  Dr.  Clodio  Willimau. 

Uruguay  is  a  well-watered  rolling  country,  72,210  square  miles 


260  SOUTHAMERICA 

1876-1910 

in  area.  The  climate  is  mild  and  healthful  for  the  European  races. 
In  1907  the  population  was  1,140,799.  Of  these  72,280  were 
Italians,  57,865  Spaniards,  and  12,879  Frenchmen.  The  population 
of  Monteveideo  is  about  316,000.  The  chief  industries  are  agriculture 
and  grazing.  In  1904  there  were  1,210  miles  of  railroad  in  opera- 
tion. Roads  are  poor  at  a  distance  from  the  cities,  but  are  being 
improved.  The  government  is  a  centralized  republic,  under  a  presi- 
dent elected  for  four  years  and  a  congress  of  two  houses.  The 
Roman  Catholic  Church  is  established,  but  complete  toleration  is 
accorded  to  other  beliefs.  As  in  many  South  American  countries, 
there  is  a  compulsory  education  law,  which  is  not  enforced.  Of 
138,200  children  of  school  age  in  1898  only  72,242  attended  school. 
The  University  of  Montevideo  had  in  the  same  year  684  students. 

The  little  state  of  Paraguay,  since  the  death  of  Lopez,  has  been 
the  sport  of  scheming  politicians  and  military  chieftians.  When 
President  Gill  took  office  in  1874  the  Brazilian  army  of  occupa- 
tion had  been  withdrawn  and  the  country  was  left  to  enjoy  the 
"liberty"  guaranteed  by  the  constitution  of  1870.  Gill's  deter- 
mination to  enforce  honesty  in  public  aflfairs  led  to  his  assassina- 
tion in  1877.  With  this  example  before  his  eyes  Vice-President 
Uribe,  who  succeeded  Gill,  took  care  not  to  offend  the  corruption- 
ists.  Baredo,  elected  in  1878,  died  within  a  few  months,  and  was 
believed  to  have  been  poisoned.  Saguier,  who  was  thus  promoted 
from  the  vice-presidency,  dared  to  resist  the  will  of  the  army  and 
was  accordingly  deposed  in  1881.  The  administrations  of  Caballero 
(1881-1886)  and  Escobar  (1886-1890)  were  controlled  by  the  mili- 
tary politicians  in  their  own  interest.  Gonzalez,  who  became  presi- 
dent in  1890,  was  another  reformer,  and  was  accordingly  ejected  by 
force  and  exiled  a  few  months  before  the  expiration  of  his  term, 
which  was  filled  out  by  Vice-President  Morifiigo.  Egusquiza 
(1894-1898)  was  a  skilful  politician,  and  accomplished  what  seemed 
impossible  by  carrying  through  some  administrative  reforms  for 
the  public  good  and  holding  his  office  for  the  full  term.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Emilio  Aceval  (1898-1902),  Juan  B.  Escurra  (1902), 
and  Dr.  Baez  (1905).  The  present  president  is  Dr.  Don  Emiliano 
Gonzalez-Navero. 

The  area  of  Paraguay  is  157,000  square  miles,  and  the  popu- 
lation in  1905  was  about  631,347,  of  whom  about  60,000  were  wild 
Indians.  The  largest  town  is  Asuncion,  the  capital,  with  a  popu- 
lation of  60,251.     The  country  lies  partly  within  the  tropics;  the 


STATES    OF    THE    LA   TLATA  2r,0a 

1876-1910 

climate  is  ill  suited  to  white  settlement,  and  there  are  less  than 
3,000  European  residents.  The  economic  ruin  caused  by  the  war 
has  been  somewhat  repaired  since  1870,  The  industries  of  the 
country  are  pastoral  and  agricultural,  arid  tobacco,  Paraguay  tea 
(ycrba  mate),  and  fruits  are  the  crops  exported.  There  are  156 
miles  of  railway  in  operation.  The  war  increased  the  public  debt. 
In  1882  there  was  a  deficit  of  $25,000  and  in  1892  the  English  bond- 
holders got  no  interest.  Thus  the  country  fell  into  economic  and 
financial  dependence  on  foreigners.  In  1895  the  interest  was  scaled. 
The  law  requires  all  children  between  eight  and  fourteen  to 
attend  school,  but  it  is  not  enforced,  and  in  the  country  districts 
the  population  is  too  much  scattered  for  its  carrying  out.  The 
actual  number  of  pupils  in  1898  was  23,000.  There  is  a  national 
college  at  Asuncion  with  205  students.  Roman  Catholicism  is  the 
established  religion,  but  other  forms  of  worship  are  tolerated. 


Chapter    XVIII 

BOUNDARY    DISPUTES.    1890-1910 

THE  boundaries  of  the  South  American  nations  are  ill  de- 
fined. Civilization  and  European  settlement  have  grad- 
ually penetrated  inland  from  the  coasts,  and  for  a  long 
time  the  back  country  was  little  known ;  but  as  the  wilderness  was 
explored  the  several  nations  whose  territories  were  thus  enlarged 
came  into  conflict  and  it  became  necessary  to  mark  the  boundaries 
accurately.  The  war  between  Chili  and  Peru  was  a  frontier  war, 
and  there  were  other  disputed  boundaries  between  Venezuela, 
Colombia,  Ecuador,  Peru;  between  Brazil  and  Peru,  the  Argen- 
tine Republic  and  Chili,  etc.  But  the  disputes  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance are  those  caused  by  the  claims  of  France  and  England 
for  their  colonies  in  Guiana,  and  those  of  the  Argentine  Republic 
and  of  Chili. 

The  Chili-Argentine  ^  dispute  arose  over  the  interpretation 
of  the  treaty  of  1884,  which  had  fixed  the  international  boundary 
at  the  crest  of  the  chain  of  the  Andes  and  the  line  of  the  water- 
shed; but  this  diplomatic  agreement  did  not  accord  with  the  facts 
of  geography,  for  the  summit  of  the  Andes  does  not  coincide  with 
the  watershed.  Hence  came  conflicting  claims  by  the  two  re- 
publics. The  Chilians  claimed  the  watershed  as  the  dividing  line, 
for  this  would  extend  their  territory  to  the  east;  but  the  Argen- 
tines would  hear  of  nothing  but  the  line  of  highest  peaks,  which 
would  extend  their  territory  toward  the  west.  Each  country 
prepared  to  maintain  its  supposed  rights  by  force,  and  from  1895 
till  1902  each  tried  to  outdo  the  other  in  warlike  preparations, 
which  put  a  heavy  financial  burden  on  both.  An  attempt  was  made 
in  1899  to  restrict  this  ruinous  competition  by  an  understanding 
between  the  presidents,  and  a  treaty  for  the  same  purpose  was 
signed  in  June,  1902.  Arbitration  had  been  agreed  upon  in  1898. 
The  northern  boundary  was  settled  in  1899  by  a  commission  com- 
posed of  one  representative  of  each  country  and  Mr.  Buchanan, 

1  See  Gallois,  "  Bibliographe  des  Annales  de  Geographic  "  1896 ;  and  Stephen, 
" Geograiische  Zeitschrift"  1895, 

261 


262  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R I C  A 

1890  1910 

United  States  Minister  to  the  Argentine  Republic.  The  line  pro- 
posed by  Mr.  Buchanan  was  a  compromise  and  was  accepted  by 
both  his  colleagues  and  by  their  respective  nations.  The  southern 
boundary  was  referred  to  the  arbitration  of  the  British  Crown, 
which  gave  its  award  in  1902. 

French  Guiana  also  had  ill-defined  boundaries.  The  Franco- 
Dutch  frontier  was  in  dispute  from  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  to  1891, 
and  the  Franco-Brazilian  frontier  until  1899.  The  Treaty  of 
Utrecht  had  simply  given  the  Maroni  River  as  the  Franco-Dutch 
boundary,  but  the  upper  course  of  that  stream  is  formed  by  the 
junction  of  two  rivers,  the  Awa  and  the  Tapahonic,  and  the  ques- 
tion was  which  of  the  two  should  be  taken  as  the  upper  course 
of  the  Maroni.  The  discovery  of  gold-bearing  deposits  between 
the  Awa  and  the  Tapahonic  caused  each  nation  to  press  its  claims 
more  vigorously  and  made  the  solution  of  the  question  more  dif- 
ficult. A  sound  basis  for  serious  argument  upon  historical  and 
geographical  lines  was  lacking,  and  the  task  of  fixing  the  boun- 
dary was  by  common  consent  entrusted  to  the  czar,  who  decided 
for  the  Awa  and  thus  awarded  the  disputed  territory  to  Holland. 

The  Franco-Brazilian  dispute  was  more  complicated.  The 
French  government  claimed  as  a  boundary  on  the  west  the  Rio 
Negro  and  Rio  Bramo  and  on  the  south  the  Amazon,  al- 
leging the  following  facts:  In  1551  the  French  built  the  Fort 
de  Brest  on  the  Amazon  near  Macapa;  Henry  IV.  in  1605  granted 
to  the  Count  of  Soissons  the  viceroyalty  of  the  country  lying  be- 
tween the  Orinoco  and  the  Amazon;  Albuquerque,  in  behalf  of 
Portugal,  recognized  the  northern  bank  of  the  Amazon  as  French 
territory  in  1614. 

By  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  Louis  XIV.  abandoned  his  claim  to 
the  free  navigation  of  the  Amazon  and  the  possession  of  its  north- 
ern bank.  But  here  arose  two  difficulties  in  interpretation,  (i) 
Did  this  abandonment  of  the  northern  bank  include  the  abandon- 
ment of  the  northern  half  of  the  Amazon  valley?  (2)  The  river 
Vincent  Pinson,  designated  as  a  boundary,  was  not  marked  on  the 
map.  Was  it  the  Araguary,  as  the  French  said,  or  the  Oyopock, 
as  the  Brazilians  claimed?  Over  this  question  floods  of  ink  were 
shed  to  no  purpose,  notwithstanding  the  wishes  of  Choiseul,  Talley- 
rand, Guizot,  Napoleon  III.,  Jules  Ferry,  etc.  The  Brazilians 
obstinately  contended  that  their  territory  extended  to  what  is  now 
the  Oyopock,  that  is  to  say,  to  Cape  Orange. 


BOUNDARY     DISPUTES  263 

1890-1910 

The  disputed  territory  was  as  large  as  the  French  colony 
of  Guiana  and  contained  gold-bearing  deposits.  In  1836  Louis 
Philippe  established  a  port  at  Mapa  to  assert  the  rights  of  France. 
In  1804  the  Brazilian  government  strengthened  the  port  of  Dom 
Pedro  11.  upon  the  Araguary.  In  i860  Brazilian  officials  were 
installed  in  the  district  of  Apurema  and  the  Rio  government  paid 
the  school  teachers  of  Mapa  and  Coumani.  In  1890  the  provisional 
republican  government  of  Brazil  decided  to  create  a  commission 
for  Brazilian  Guiana,  which  was  finally  constituted  and  began  its 
work  in  1892.  It  was  granted  $247,500  a  year  and  two  small 
ships  of  war,  the  Cahcdello  and  the  Cacador. 

The  French  government  sent  expeditions  into  the  country 
under  Dr.  Crevaux  (1876- 1888)  and  Condreau  (1883- 1894),  but 
it  respected  the  disputed  territory.  In  1890  the  Brazilians  planned 
an  attack  upon  Mapa,  but  it  failed.  A  like  attempt  in  1885  upon 
the  same  place  had  resulted  in  bloodshed  and  the  recall  of  the 
Governor  of  Cayenne.^  In  1899  the  question  was  submitted  for 
arbitration  to  the  President  of  the  Swiss  Republic,  who  gave  his 
award  (December  i,  1900)  in  favor  of  Brazil. 

Similar  difficulties  attended  the  fixing  of  the  boundary  be- 
tween British  Guiana  and  Venezuela.  In  1814  Great  Britain 
forced  the  Netherlands  to  cede  the  eastern  part  of  Dutch  Guiana, 
and  between  18 10  and  1822  Venezuela  succeeded  to  the  rights 
formerly  held  by  the  Spanish  captain-generalcy  of  Caracas.  In 
1840  the  British  government  sent  Sir  Robert  Schomburgh  on  a 
mission  to  the  country.  He  claimed  that  the  rights  of  the  Nether- 
lands, which  England  had  inherited,  carried  the  English  territory 
to  the  watershed  of  the  Orinoco,  but  he  proposed  a  more  easterly 
line  which  bore  his  name  in  the  later  discussions.  In  1814  Lord 
Aberdeen  consented  to  remove  the  frontier  still  further  toward  the 
east,  and  in  1850  both  nations  agreed  to  respect  the  status  quo. 

Nevertheless  British  subjects  invaded  the  disputed  territory, 
which  contained  rich  gold  deposits,  and  in  1886  Guzman  Blanco 
demanded  the  evacuation  of  the  territory  west  of  the  Pomaron. 
The  British  government  refused  this  and  diplomatic  negotiations 
were  broken  off  (February,  1887).  On  December  i,  1895,  the 
Venezuelans  sacked  a  British  post  that  had  been  established  on  the 
contested  ground  and  the  queen's  government  sent  an  ultimatum 
full  of  threats  for  Venezuela  in  case  it  did  not  pay  an  indemnity. 
This  incident  almost  caused  an  Anglo-American  war.  The  gov- 
-  From  articles  of  M.  Creveau,  B.  S.  G.,  Com.  de  Paris. 


264.  SOUTHAMERICA 

1890-1910 

ernment  of  the  United  States  had  urged  Lord  Salisbury  to  submit 
the  boundary  question  to  arbitration,  arguing  that  England's  ap- 
propriation of  any  of  the  disputed  territory  by  superior  force 
would  be  a  violation  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine.  This  the  Brit- 
ish government  refused,  and  on  December  i8,  1895,  President 
Cleveland  reported  the  situation  to  Congress  and  urged  that  the 
true  divisional  line  be  determined,  after  careful  investigation, 
by  a  commission  of  American  citizens.  The  message  produced 
great  excitement  in  the  United  States  and  caused  a  heavy  fall  in 
the  price  of  American  securities  on  the  New  York  Stock  Exchange. 
Congress  adopted  the  President's  proposal  with  unanimity,  the 
commission  was  organized,  and  Venezuela  submitted  her  claims 
and  proofs  to  it.  The  British  press  and  public  were  unmoved  and 
had  no  mind  for  war  with  the  United  States  over  the  method  to 
be  chosen  for  reaching  a  just  decision  of  the  boundary  dispute. 
Lord  Salisbury's  government,  after  its  first  misstep,  displayed  self- 
restraint  and  good  judgment.  Though  it  did  not  formally  sub- 
mit proofs  to  the  American  commission,  it  published  its  evidence, 
which  thus  became  accessible  to  the  commission.  On  June  14, 
1897,  a  treaty  was  signed  by  Great  Britain  and  Venezuela  sub- 
mitting the  question  to  arbitration,  as  the  United  States  had 
originally  demanded.  The  decision  of  the  arbitrators  was  more 
favorable  to  the  British  than  to  the  Venezuelan  claims.  President 
Cleveland's  commission  made  no  report. 

The  Treaty  of  Ancon,  which  ended  the  war  between  Chili  and 
Peru,  was  ratified  May  8,  1884.  By  it  the  Peruvian  provinces  of 
Tacna  and  Arica  were  left  in  the  possession  and  under  the  control 
of  Chili  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  a  plebiscite  was  to  decide  whether 
they  were  to  remain  permanently  under  the  Chilian  sovereignty 
or  be  returned  to  Peru,  and  the  country  to  which  the  provinces 
should  be  thus  adjudged  was  to  pay  to  the  other  $10,000,000  in 
Chilian  silver.  When  the  ten  years  expired  Peru  was  in  revolu- 
tion and  could  not  have  found  this  sum  of  money.  The  decision 
was  therefore  postponed  by  mutual  agreement.  When  negotiations 
were  renewed  Peru  claimed  that  only  Peruvian  citizens  could 
vote  on  the  question,  and  Chili  that  all  residents  of  the  two  prov- 
inces had  a  right  to  vote.  A  proposal  to  submit  the  question  to  the 
arbitration  of  the  queen  regent  of  Spain  was  rejected  by  the  Chil- 
ian Congress  in  1898,  and  Chili  has  since  remained  in  possession 
with  this  cloud  on  her  title. 


BOUNDARY     DISPUTES  265 

1890-1910 

Bolivia  would  not  agree  to  the  Chilian  proposals  for  a  treaty 
of  peace  after  the  Treaty  of  Ancon,  so  a  truce,  known  as  the  "  Pacta 
de  Trcgna  "  was  signed  April  4,  1884,  By  the  terms  of  the  truce 
one  year's  notice  was  to  be  given  by  either  party  of  its  determination 
to  resume  hostilities,  and  Chili  was  to  hold  and  govern  the  coast 
territory  it  had  won  by  arms.  Bolivia  had  repeatedly  tried  to  re- 
cover this  territory  by  diplomacy,  using  the  Chili-Argentine  boun- 
dary dispute  as  a  means  of  bringing  pressure  upon  Chili  in  this 
matter,  but  Chili  still  remains  in  possession  and  Bolivia  is  in  no 
position  to  recover  the  province  by  force  of  arms. 

Other  boundary  questions  have  been  settled  as  follows: 
Bolivia-Brazil  in  1903,  by  treaty;  Brazil-Argentina,  by  the  arbi- 
tration of  President  Cleveland  in  March,  1895;  Brazil-British 
Guiana  in  1904  by  the  arbitration  of  the  king  of  Italy;  Peru- 
Colombia,  submitted  to  the  arbitration  of  the  Spanish  Crown  in 
1895;  Colombia- Venezuela,  in  April,  1891,  by  arbitration  of  the 
Spanish  Crown ;  Colombia-Costa  Rica,  in  July,  1880,  by  treaty. 
The  boundary  dispute  of  Peru  with  Brazil,  was  finally  settled  on 
January  11,  1910,  when  the  Peruvian  congress  sanctioned  the  treaty 
with  that  country.  On  July  22,  1909,  another  of  these  boundary 
disputes  arose  between  Peru  and  Bolivia,  in  which  Chili  became 
involved  to  the  extent  of  requesting  Bolivia  to  recall  her  minister 
because  of  alleged  misrepresentation  regarding  the  matter.  August 
8,  1909,  Bolivians  stoned  the  houses  of  the  people  of  Peru  and  Ar- 
gentina, then  residing  at  Guapai.  With  the  inauguration,  August 
I2th,  of  Ellidore  Vallazon,  successor  to  Ismail  Montes,  a  new  ele- 
ment was  introduced  into  the  government,  and  on  August  13th, 
the  new  president  suggested  that  the  matter  be  settled  by  diplo- 
macy. On  November  29,  1909,  Chili  joined  the  United  States  in 
requesting  King  Edward  to  act  as  arbitrator  regarding  the  AIsop 
claims.  The  worst  fire  Chili  has  ever  known  raged  December  13, 
1909,  during  which  eighteen  blocks  of  Valdi\ia  were  destroyed,  en- 
tailing a  loss  of  $2,500,000,  and  thousands  were  made  homeless. 


Chapter   XIX 

CONCLUSION 

IT  was  for  a  long  time  the  fashion  to  laugh  at  South  America. 
Brazilians,  Argentines,  Colombians,  and  Peruvians  seemed 
like  the  characters  of  melodrama  or  vaudeville,  and  the  un- 
enlightened public  had  no  wish  to  remember  anything  more  than 
some  striking  events  in  the  bloodstained  life  of  the  young  re- 
publics and  certain  grotesque  traits  of  well-known  low-bred 
millionaires  whose  wealth  had  been  acquired  in  vast  speculations 
on  the  exchanges  of  the  great  South  American  cities.  Such 
absurd  and  ill-considered  opinions  were  long  since  shown  to  be 
unjust.  Much  of  the  present  is  explained  by  the  past,  and  if  we 
wish  to  give  a  just  judgment  upon  the  young  Southern  republics 
and  determine  the  degree  of  their  progress,  we  must  glance  back- 
ward over  their  history. 

As  yet  science  throws  but  an  imperfect  light  upon  the  condi- 
tion of  South  America  before  the  coming  of  the  Spanish.  Only 
as  to  Peru  have  we  any  considerable  information.  When  the  eth- 
nography of  the  wild  Indians  is  better  known,  it  will  enable  us 
to  understand  the  customs,  religion,  and,  perhaps,  the  history  of 
the  tribes  living  in  the  valley  of  the  Amazon,  which  still  number 
several  hundred  thousand  persons. 

The  conquest  was  marked  by  many  massacres  and  persecutions 
of  the  natives,  the  extermination  of  tribes,  the  pitiless  exploitation 
of  the  vanquished,  the  destruction  of  the  native  civilizations;  the 
colonial  system  of  popular  ignorance  fostered  by  the  clergy ;  admin- 
istrative despotism  and  economic  isolation.  At  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century  some  light  had  begun  to  penetrate  the  darkened 
minds  of  the  South  Americans.  The  half-breeds  who  had  acquired 
some  education,  but  still  lacked  all  legal  rights,  understood  the 
importance  of  those  two  great  historical  events,  the  independence 
of  the  United  States  and  the  French  Revolution.  The  force  of 
the  blow  struck  by  the  French  Revolution  and  the  Napoleonic  wars 

266 


CONCLUSION  267 

at  the  monarchies  holding  South  America,  was  felt  in  the  American 
colonies  of  Spain  and  Portugal. 

Then  began  the  fight  for  independence,  which  gave  fine  ex- 
amples of  courage,  love  of  liberty,  and  fraternity  among  the 
enslaved  Americans.  What  wonder  that  these  peoples,  made  up 
of  different  races — Indians,  half-bloods,  negroes,  and  whites — did 
not  enter  upon  peaceful  political  life  immediately  after  their 
liberation?  But  were  not  the  days  of  revolution  in  France,  1793, 
July  I,  1830,  February  and  June,  1848,  and  1871,  marked  by  mob 
violence  and  bloodshed?  And  this  in  spite  of  the  advantages 
of  the  French  people,  enlightened  by  philosophy,  literature,  books, 
and  newspapers,  as  contrasted  with  these  primitive  peoples  where 
only  a  small  number  of  chosen  men  had  acquired  a  certain  degree 
of  education.  This  difference  of  customs  and  of  previous  train- 
ing is  enough  to  explain  the  cruelty  of  the  civil  wars,  the  odious 
despotisms,  and  the  bloody  revolutions  which  stain  the  history 
of  these  American  republics  during  the  nineteenth  century. 

To-day  there  are  proofs  of  social  progress.  Political  life,  if 
not  peaceful,  is  at  least  more  humane.  The  noisy  civil  wars  do 
little  damage  and  this  progress  is  certainly  due  to  European  in- 
fluence. It  is  generally  true  that  many  of  those  who  become  party 
leaders  have  been  educated  abroad,  in  the  United  States,  England, 
or  France,  and  the  increase  of  European  immigrants  with  the 
influence  of  European  financiers  has  not  been  without  results.  To 
secure  the  esteem  of  Europe  and  credit  from  European  financiers. 
South  Americans  must  become  more  humane. 

Moreover,  the  South  American  republics  have  each  had  a 
liberal  party  modeled  on  the  liberal  parties  of  Europe,  devoted  to 
civilization  and  enlightenment  and  striving  to  separate  the  state 
from  the  church,  to  spread  knowledge,  and  to  establish  primary 
education.  In  the  nineteenth  century  all  the  South  American 
states  displayed  equal  zeal  in  the  promotion  of  art,  science,  and 
literature.  All  have  tried  to  introduce  the  material  civilization  that 
western  Europe  and  the  United  States  together  created  during 
the  century:  railroads,  gas  lighting,  electricity,  telegraphy,  etc. 
In  the  last  twenty  years  slavery  and  monarchy,  the  only  sur- 
vivals of  the  old  order  in  America,  were  entirely  eliminated  by 
the  transformation  of  Brazil  into  a  republic  shortly  after  the  liberal 
empire  of  Dom  Pedro  II.  had  freed  its  slaves. 

In  a  word,  the  South  Americans  have  thrown  off  the  several 


268 


SOUTH     AMERICA 


tyrannies  imposed  by  their  masters  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and 
have  transformed  their  governments  into  modern  states,  repubhcan 
in  form,  in  accordance  with  the  examples  set  them  by  the  history 
of  the  United  States  and  the  Hberal  poHtical  doctrines  professed 
in  that  country,  in  England,  and  in  France.     To  be  sure,  not  all 


SOUTH  AMEiUan 


South  Americans  are  citizens  who  know  their  rights  and  duties, 
and  some  voters  fail  to  act  wisely  and  righteously  in  political  life. 
In  truth,  there  are  among  the  mulattoes  men  who  blindly  follow 
their  chiefs  and  who  will  not  contend  for  a  political  platform  or 
an  idea;  but  in  most  of  the  South  American  republics  there  are 
vigorous  minorities  which  are  conscientious  in  their  political 
actions.    And  it  must  be  admitted  that  in  most  European  countries 


CONCLUSION  269 

political  life  is  no  more  intense  or  logical,  and  no  more  guided  by 
ideas  rather  than  by  attachment  to  the  person  of  a  leader,  than  it 
is  in  South  America. 

Such  facts  must  be  noted  and  such  parallels  drawn  to  judge 
truly  and  without  prejudice  young  nations,  and  races  newly  brought 
to  civilization. 

The  place  which  South  America  holds  in  the  world,  when  all 
its  political  groups  are  considered  together,  is  not  large.  The  vast 
continent  has  a  population  no  greater  than  that  of  France,  and  this 
population  is  so  scattered  that  it  has  not  been  possible  to  establish 
any  great  power.  There  is  to-day  no  South  American  nation 
whose  army,  fleet,  or  diplomacy  has  any  weight  in  general  world 
politics.  Recent  events  have  shown  that  Europe  must  take  ac- 
count of  the  United  States,  but  it  cannot  be  influenced  by  any 
South  American  nation.  Though  these  new  states  have  their 
writers,  poets,  scholars,  and  artists,  some  of  whom  have  achieved 
personal  distinction,  there  has  not  yet  arisen  in  South  America 
any  intellectual  center  of  which  contemporary  thought  must  take 
notice.  Whether  from  the  political  or  scientific  point  of  view  these 
republics  play  a  modest  part. 

The  real  importance  of  the  continent  lies  in  its  economic 
wealth.  Agriculture,  grazing,  and  mining  are  its  strength.  South 
America  is  still  rich  in  gold.  The  exploitation  of  its  fertile  soil 
has  only  just  commenced:  cotton,  coffee,  cacao,  sugar,  tobacco, 
wheat,  and  manioc  are  its  true  riches.  Its  pampas  have  pasturage 
enough  to  supply  cattle  for  the  greatest  markets  of  Europe.  Valu- 
able woods  abound,  and,  taken  as  a  wdiole,  the  richness  of  the  soil 
of  this  land  is  beyond  comparison.  Now  that  population  is  becom- 
ing more  and  more  dense  in  the  old  world  and  in  the  United  States, 
in  other  words,  when  these  consuming  countries  are  tending  more 
and  more  to  form  close  relations  wath  agricultural  countries  and 
promote  the  exchange  of  raw  materials  and  food  stuffs  on  the  one 
hand,  against  manufactured  goods  on  the  other,  the  place  of  South 
America  in  the  economic  world  is  becoming  more  important. 

To  be  sure,  the  belief  sometimes  expressed  that  South 
America  has  room  for  a  population  numbering  hundreds  of  mil- 
lions, is  ill  founded.  When  we  consider  the  vast  areas  occupied 
by  mountains  with  pleasant  valleys  but  inaccessible  steep  slopes 
and  uninhabitable  summits,  besides  the  immense  valley  of  the 
Amazon  with  its  close-growing  forests,  where  the  sun  penetrates 


270  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

but  feebly  through  the  thick  foliage,  and  the  waters  of  numerous 
and  vast  rivers  flood  the  land  near  their  banks,  where  animal  life 
has  no  more  unconquerable  enemy  than  the  vigorous  vegetable 
growth,  where  the  Indian  tribes  vegetate  rather  than  live,  we  must 
doubt  whether  there  are  extensive  regions  open  to  colonization, 
at  least  by  the  white  race. 

But  the  economic  value  of  South  America  is  independent  of 
its  fitness  for  colonization,  and  thus  the  question  now  awaiting 
solution  is:  who  is  destined  to  exploit  the  continent?  For  a  long 
period  South  America,  though  independent  of  Europe  in  politics, 
remained  in  economic  dependence  on  the  European  market. 
European  capitalists  and  manufacturers  have  supplied  South 
America  with  the  capital  it  lacked  and  the  manufactured  goods 
it  desired  but  could  not  make  for  itself.  To-day  certain  nations 
show  a  tendency  to  throw  off  this  dependence;  among  them 
Chili,  with  its  rich  coal  and  mineral  deposits,  desires,  and  can 
probably  create,  a  manufacturing  system.  The  other  republics, 
though  less  fortunately  situated,  at  least  have  the  choice  between 
two  markets  for  manufactures,  Europe  and  the  United  States,  and 
for  some  parts  of  South  America  the  latter  is  nearer  and  more  at- 
tractive. In  truth  a  new  phase  seems  to  have  begun  in  the  ex- 
ternal politics  of  South  America.  Its  foreign  relations  may  well 
be  transformed  into  an  informal  alliance  with  the  United  States. 

Brazil  and  Argentina  already  have  the  federal  form  of  govern- 
ment on  the  northern  model,  and  the  White  House  stands  ready 
to  defend  American  republics  when  they  are  threatened  by  a 
European  power.  The  Anglo-Venezuelan  case  was  symptomatic, 
and  the  attitude  of  President  Cleveland  was  the  more  interesting 
because  it  agrees  both  with  a  political  dogma,  "  America  for  the 
Americans,"  and  with  a  commercial  tendency,  much  emphasized 
of  late  years,  toward  a  customs  union  between  North  and  South 
America,  This  scheme  has  aroused  keen  interest  in  Europe.  If 
it  becomes  a  reality  the  economic  struggle  for  existence  will  be- 
come difficult  if  not  impossible  for  the  merchants  and  manufac- 
turers of  the  Old  World,  and  it  will  result  in  such  an  economic 
crisis  in  Europe  that  the  Baring  panic  will  appear  trifling  in  com- 
parison. But  will  South  America  freely  choose  to  take  from 
North  America  the  manufactured  articles  which  it  consumes,  and 
give  in  exchange  the  products  that  its  fertile  soil  produces  in 
such  abundance?    The  South  American  statesmen  will  probably  be 


CONCLUSION  271 

at  more  pains  to  secure  for  their  country  political  independence,  so 
closely  related  to  economic  independence,  than  to  support  a  for- 
mula of  pure  geographic  chauvinism,  and  will  preserve  the  right 
to  choose  their  customers  and  furnishers  as  moved  by  their  own 
wants  and  those  of  their  fellow-citizens.  Moreover,  it  is  likely 
that  the  most  active  part  of  the  South  American  population,  the 
European  immigrants,  will  keep  up  their  relations  with  the  Old 
World,  relations  which  are  to-day  obligatory  because  of  heavy 
debts  contracted  with  the  financiers  of  Europe.  Doubtless  it 
would  be  unwise  to  exaggerate  the  lasting  quality  of  this  bond 
between  Europe  and  South  America,  for  the  European  emigrants 
settled  in  North  America  and  Australia  have  shown  an  independ- 
ence of  heart  with  relation  to  the  mother  countries  whence  they 
came,  which  cannot  quite  be  called  ingratitude,  but  is  the  natural 
result  of  new  economic  conditions,  overcoming  sentimental  con- 
siderations as  they  always  do. 

It  is  not  our  business,  in  this  place,  to  prophesy,  but  simply 
to  point  out  the  new  state  of  things,  and  if  we  have  shown  that 
in  the  last  one  hundred  years  liberal  ideas  have  replaced  autocratic 
doctrines  in  South  America,  that  the  people  have  progressed  from 
monarchical  subjection  to  independence  and  the  republican  form 
of  government,  from  state-fostered  ignorance  to  a  system  of  in- 
tellectual and  scientific  education,  from  economic  subjection  to  the 
beginnings  of  economic  freedom  and  the  ability  to  buy  in  the 
markets  of  America  or  Europe  according  to  their  desires  or  in- 
terests, the  reader  can  understand  what  progress  the  South  Ameri- 
cans have  made,  and  that  their  history  has  entered  upon  a  new 
phase. 

To  the  observer  in  the  United  States  the  developments  of  the 
last  decade  suggest  some  modification  of  the  foregoing  views.  In- 
creasing political  stability  and  economic  progress  may  be  confidently 
looked  for  in  the  portion  of  the  continent  south  of  the  Tropic  of 
Capricorn.  Here,  facing  the  Atlantic,  are  Argentina,  Uruguay,  and 
the  southern  provinces  of  Brazil,  which  are  the  heart  of  the  Portu- 
guese republic.  To  this  group  of  states,  Paraguay,  the  mineral 
wealth  of  the  Bolivian  highlands,  and  the  tropical  forests  of  the 
Amazon  valley,  stand  in  close  political  or  economic  relation.  The 
La  Plata  is  the  natural  outlet  of  this  temperate  region,  and  Buenos 
Ayres  is  its  metropolis.  Here,  more  than  anywhere  else  in  South 
America,  the  European  race  predominates  over  the  Indian,  and  is 


272  S  O  U  T  H     A  ]M  E  R  I  C  A 

constantly  recruited  by  fresh  European  immigration.  History  and 
the  present  movement  of  population  have  reserved  this  portion  of  the 
New  World  for  new  nations  of  the  Latin  race.  Though  the  German 
colonies  in  Brazil  are  influential,  the  industrial  prosperity  of  the 
German  Empire  has  dried  up  the  springs  of  emigration,  while 
the  outpouring  of  Italians  and  Spaniards  continues,  so  that  the 
Germans  are  far  outnumbered  already  by  the  newcomers  from 
southern  Europe,  who  are  readily  assimilated  by  the  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  Creoles.  This  region  is  destined  to  grow  in  commer- 
cial importance  with  the  steady  increase  of  its  export  of  food 
stuffs  and  raw  materials  to  Europe.  Immigration  and  commerce 
both  work  toward  political  stability,  and  the  habit  of  revolution 
is  already  being  outgrown.  International  jealousies,  the  other 
enemy  of  progress  in  these  regions,  ought  to  be  removed  and  closer 
commercial  and  political  relations  cultivated  by  the  statesmen  of 
these  nations,  which  may  some  day  realize  a  part  of  the  dream  of 
Bolivar,  a  United  States  of  South  America,  Chili  also  belongs 
to  the  temperate  zone,  but  lacks  two  elements  of  greatness  which 
the  La  Plata  region  possesses:  room  for  expansion,  and  large  im- 
migration. This  country  has  been  the  most  stable  of  all  the  South 
American  republics,  and  by  the  energy  and  intelligence  of  its  Creole 
population  dominates  the  western  coast  to  the  borders  of  Colom- 
bia, but  its  domination  is  irksome  and  the  military  and  naval 
strength  of  Chili  rests  on  a  narrow  basis.  Hemmed  in  as  she  is 
between  the  Andes  and  the  Pacific,  and  handicapped  by  the  thinly 
disguised  enmity  of  Bolivia  and  Peru,  Chili  has  cause  to  dread  a 
contest  with  Argentina,  and  such  a  contest  may  arise  out  of  the 
closer  relations  w^hich  are  likely  to  be  established  between  Argen- 
tina and  Bolivia.  With  the  completion  of  the  tunnel  through  the 
Andes,  now  building.  Chili  will  be  brought  in  touch  with  the 
group  of  Latin  nations  of  the  Southern  Hemisphere  to  which  she 
rightfully  belongs. 

The  tropical  portion  of  the  continent,  except  its  high  moun- 
tain regions,  is  unfitted  for  white  colonization,  and  gives  as  yet 
no  sure  promise  of  self-development.  Colombia  and  Venezuela, 
by  geographical  position,  must  be  greatly  influenced  by  the  United 
States,  whence  will  come  the  capital  to  develop  their  resources.  If 
their  governments  habitually  fail  to  give  reasonable  protection  to  life 
and  property,  it  is  probable  that  some  means  will  be  found  by  the 
United  States  to  secure  it.    Peru  and  Ecuador  will  also  be  brought 


CONCLUSION  273 

into  closer  relations  vvitli  the  United  States  and  with  Europe  by  the 
Panama  Canal,  and  here,  too,  law  and  order  must  be  established 
from  within  or  imposed  from  without.  The  commerce  of  the  west- 
ern and  Caribbean  coasts  of  the  continent  is  likely  to  be  attracted 
to  the  United  States,  while  the  Atlantic  coast,  especially  the  La 
Plata  region,  by  geographical  position  and  economic  conditions, 
will  trade  chiefly  in  European  markets. 

The  official  visit  of  Secretary  of  State  Root  of  the  United  States 
in  the  fall  of  1906  did  much  for  the  establishment  of  a  friendly  feel- 
ing toward  his  country.  Formerly  South  Americans  had  distrusted 
the  policy  of  the  United  States,  believing  that  the  great  northern 
republic  desired  commercial  intercourse  with  them  so  that  she  might 
make  them  politically  dependent  on  her.  His  speech,  delivered  at 
Rio  Janeiro  during  a  session  of  the  Pan-American  Conference,  was 
an  official  expression  from  the  Washington  government  and  bids 
fair  to  be  as  much  quoted  as  the  Monroe  Doctrine. 


APPENDIX 


PROGRAMME  OF  THE  THIRD  INTERNATIONAL  CON- 
FERENCE OF  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLICS  AT  RIO  DE 
JANEIRO,  JULY  23,  1906 

INTERNATIONAL    BUREAU    OF   THE   AMERICAN    REPUBLICS 

I.  (a)  Reorganization  of  the  International  Bureau  of  the 
American  Republics  on  a  more  permanent  basis ; 

(b)  Enlarging  and  improving  the  scope  and  efficiency  of  the 
Institution. 

II.  A  resolution  affirming  the  adherence  of  the  American 
Republics  to  the  principle  of  arbitration  for  the  settlement  of 
disputes  arising  between  them,  and  expressing  the  hope  of  the  Re- 
publics taking  part  in  the  Conference  that  the  International  Con- 
ference to  be  convened  at  The  Hague  will  agree  upon  a  general 
arbitration  convention  that  can  be  approved  and  put  in  operation 
by  every  country. 

III.  A  resolution  recommending  to  the  different  Republics 
the  extension  for  a  further  period  of  five  years  of  the  "  Treaty 
of  Arbitration  for  Pecuniary  Claims,"  agreed  upon  at  the  Mexican 
Conference  between  the  different  Republics. 

IV.  A  resolution  recommending  that  the  Second  Peace  Con- 
ference at  The  Hague  be  requested  to  consider  whether,  and,  if  at 
all,  the  extent  to  which,  the  use  of  force  for  the  collection  of  public 
debts  is  admissible. 

CODIFICATION   OF   PUBLIC   AND   PRIVATE   INTERNATIONAL   LAW 

V.  A  convention  providing  for  the  creation  of  a  committee  of 
jurists  who  shall  prepare  for  the  consideration  of  the  next  Con- 
ference a  draft  of  a  Code  of  Public  International  Law  and  Private 
International  Law,  and  providing  for  the  payment  of  the  expenses 
incident  to  such  work ;  especially  recommending  for  the  considera- 
tion of  the  said  committee  of  jurists  the  treaties  agreed  upon  at 

277 


278  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

the  Congress  of  Montevideo  in  1889  on  "  Civil  Law,"  "  Commer- 
cial Law,"  "  Criminal  Law,"  and  "  Judicial  Procedure." 

NATURALIZATION 

VT.  The  advisability  of  concluding  a  convention  embodying 
the  principle  that  a  naturalized  citizen  in  one  of  the  contracting 
countries,  who  renews  his  residence  in  the  country  of  his  origin, 
without  the  intention  of  returning  to  the  country  where  he  was 
naturalized,  be  considered  to  have  renounced  his  naturalization  in 
the  said  country,  and  the  intent  not  to  return  shall  be  presumed  to 
exist  when  the  naturalized  person  resides  for  over  two  years  in 
the  country  of  his  origin. 

DEVELOPMENT    OF    COMMERCIAL    INTERCOURSE    BETWEEN    THE 
AMERICAN  .REPUBLICS 

VIL  Adoption  of  resolutions  which  the  Conference  may  con- 
sider proper  for: 

(a)  The  more  rapid  communication  between  the  different 
nations, 

(b)  The  conclusion  of  commercial  treaties. 

(c)  The  greatest  possible  dissemination  of  statistical  and  com- 
mercial information. 

(d)  Measures  tending  to  develop  and  extend  commercial  in- 
tercourse between  the  Republics  forming  the  conference. 

CUSTOMS   AND    CONSULAR   LAWS 

VIII.  The  simplification  and  coordination  of  the  customs  and 
consular  laws  referring  to  the  entry  and  clearance  of  ships  and 
merchandise. 

PATENTS    AND   TRADE-MARKS 

IX.  Consideration  of  the  treaties  of  Montevideo  and  Mexico, 
covering  this  subject,  together  with: 

(a)  Recommendations  tending  toward  uniformity  in  patent 
laws  and  procedure. 

(b)  The  creation  of  an  International  Bureau  for  the  registra- 
tion of  trade-marks. 


INTERNATIONAL     CONFERENCE       279 

SANITARY   POLICE   AND   QUARANTINE 

X.  Consideration  of  the  sanitary  convention  signed  and  ref- 
erendum at  Washington,  and  the  one  conckided  at  Rio  Janeiro,  and 
such  additional  recommendations  on  matters  of  pubHc  health  as 
will  most  effectively  enable  each  of  the  Republics  to  assist  the 
others  in  the  prevention  of  epidemic,  and  in  the  reduction  of 
mortality  from  contagious  diseases. 

PAN-AMERICAN   RAILWAY 

XI.  Consideration  of  the  report  of  the  Permanent  Committee 

of  The  Pan-American  Railway,  and  recommendation,  to 

at  the  Conference,  to  the  different  Republics  with  regard  thereto, 
and  reaffirming  the  interest  of  all  the  Republics  in  the  success  of 
this  project. 

COPYRIGHT 

XII.  Consideration  of  the  Treaties  of  Montevideo  and  of 
Mexico  regarding  copyright,  and  legislation  bearing  on  the  subject 
in  the  American  Republics. 

PRACTICE   OF   THE    LEARNED    PROFESSIONS 

XIII.  Pleasures  which  may  be  deemed  necessary  to  carry  into 
effect  the  idea  embodied  in  the  treaty  agreed  to  in  the  Second 
Pan-American  Conference  with  regard  to  this  subject. 

XIV.  Future  conferences. 


THE   THIRD    INTERNATIONAL    AMERICAN 
CONFERENCE  1 

THE  Third  International  American  Conference  met  at  Rio 
de  Janeiro  on  the  evening  of  July  23,  1906,  as  previously 
announced.  Baron  de  Rio  Branco,  Minister  of  Foreign 
Relations  of  Brazil,  and  temporary  president  of  the  Conference, 
delivered  the  following  brilliant  speech : 

"  In  inaugurating  the  work  of  the  Third  International  Ameri- 
can Conference  it  is  my  pleasant  duty,  in  behalf  of  the  Government 
and  people  of  Brazil,  to  welcome  the  delegates  of  the  nations  here 
represented,  and  to  congratulate  them  on  their  safe  arrival. 

"  These  greetings,  expressing  the  cordial  feelings  of  a  people 
noted  for  its  hospitality,  are  accompanied  by  our  sincere  gratitude 
that  Rio  de  Janeiro  has  this  time  been  chosen  for  the  holding  of  the 
Conference.  Indeed,  never  before  has  there  been  seen  in  Brazilian 
territory  so  large  and  distinguished  an  assemblage  of  foreign  states- 
men, jurists,  and  diplomats,  and  I  can  assure  you  that  Brazil  and 
its  Government  know  how  to  appreciate  at  its  full  value  this  great 
honor  which  has  already  been  granted  to  Washington  and  Mexico, 
and  which  must  fall  successively  to  the  capitals  of  the  other  Ameri- 
can states. 

"  It  is  our  earnest  wish  that  this  Third  Conference  may  result 
in  establishing  the  happy  conviction,  confirmed  and  expressed  in 
acts  and  practical  measures  of  common  interest,  that  the  time  of 
true  international  confraternity  is  not  far  distant.  A  pledge  of 
it  already  is  this  spirit  now  being  generally  manifested  of  seeking 
the  means  of  conciliating  opposing,  or  apparently  opposing,  inter- 
ests, putting  them  afterwards  to  the  same  service  of  attaining  the 
ideal,  the  progress  of  peace.  It  already  manifests  itself  in  the 
spirit  of  farsightedness  with  which  nations  are  seeking  to  promote 
closer  political  relations,  avoid  conflicts,  and  provide  for  the  peace- 
ful solution  of  international  differences  by  simplifying  and  making 
1  From  the  report  of  the  International  Bureau  of  American  Republics. 


INTERNATIONAL     CONFERENCE       281 

uniform  the  laws  of  trade  and  of  nations,  thereby  facihtating 
greater  approximation  among  them. 

"  In  former  times  so-called  congresses  of  peace  were  held  to 
determine  the  consequences  of  war,  and  the  conquerors,  in  tlie 
name  of  a  future  friendship,  based  on  respect  for  the  stronger, 
dictated  laws  to  the  conquered.  To-day  congresses  assemble  with- 
out constraint ;  they  are  almost  always  convoked  in  times  of  peace, 
by  a  wise  foresight,  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  the  peaceful 
activities  of  the  nations,  and  in  them  the  rights  of  the  weakest 
receive  the  same  consideration  as  those  of  the  strongest.  They 
give  body,  form,  and  authority  to  international  law,  which  happily 
is  coming  more  and  more  to  be  respected,  and  therefore  constitutes 
a  great  step  in  the  history  of  civilization.  They  have  their  origin 
in  a  strong  public  sentiment  created  by  the  greater  diffusion  of 
education,  the  increasing  importance  of  economic  interests,  and 
the  assiduous  dissemination  of  humanitarian  and  peace  sentiments. 

"  Instead  of  the  difficult  and  painful  negotiations  in  which  one 
party  pleads  for  justice  or  generosity,  and  the  other  imposes  the 
law  of  his  will  alone,  we  now  have  calm  and  friendly  discussions, 
in  which  each  party  makes  a  clear  and  simple  statement  of  his 
views  on  practical  questions  of  general  utility.  Here,  concessions 
represent  conquests  of  judgment,  friendly  compromises,  or  com- 
pensations counseled  by  mutual  interests.  In  them  only  friendly 
actions  are  used,  such  as  true  courtesy  demands  among  equals; 
and  by  acting  thus  the  national  dignity,  instead  of  being  lessened, 
will  be  enhanced. 

"  In  these  diplomatic  encounters,  where  there  are  neither  con- 
querors nor  conquered,  such  considerations  as  these  are  certainly 
not  unfamiliar  to  the  distinguished  members  of  the  International 
Conference;  they  are  familiar  to,  and  thoroughly  understood  by, 
all  here.  Nevertheless,  I  have  thought  them  necessary  as  an  ex- 
press declaration  of  the  true  and  sincere  purpose  of  our  meeting. 

"  That  is  one  of  the  false  ideas  that  still  survive  from  the 
past,  when  history  taught  only  the  lesson  of  pessimism,  that  men 
assemble  together  only  to  do  harm  to  other  men.  Perchance  our 
meeting  in  conference  gives  rise  to  the  suspicion  that  it  is  an  in- 
ternational league  formed  against  interests  not  represented  herein. 
It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  declare  emphatically  that  all  interests 
will  be  respected  by  us ;  that  in  the  discussion  of  the  political  and 
commercial  problems  submitted  to  the  Conference  for  its  considera- 


282  SOUTH     A  ^I  ERICA 

tion.  it  works  against  no  one ;  that  it  has  solely  in  view  the  greater 
approximation  of  the  American  people,  their  welfare  and  progress, 
with  the  realization  of  which  Europe  and  the  other  parts  of  the 
world  have  but  to  gain. 

"  Nations  still  young,  we  cannot  forget  what  we  owe  to  the 
founders  of  the  capital  with  which  we  have  entered  the  society 
of  nations.  The  very  vastness  of  our  territory,  a  large  part  of 
which  is  uninhabited  and  some  parts  even  unexplored,  and  the 
certainty  that  we  have  on  this  continent  resources  sufficient  for  a 
population  ten,  twenty  times  larger,  would  counsel  us  to  strengthen 
and  develop  the  relations  of  friendship  and  of  trade  with  this  in- 
exhaustible source  of  men  and  wonderful  fountain  of  fruitful  ener- 
gies— Europe.  She  has  created  us,  she  has  taught  us,  from  her 
we  receive,  incessantly,  aid  and  example,  the  benefits  of  her  science 
and  art,  the  products  of  her  industry,  and  the  most  profitable  lesson 
of  progress.  What  we,  by  growing  and  prospering,  can  give  her 
in  exchange  for  these  inappreciable  moral  and  material  benefits  will 
assuredly  be  a  more  important  field  for  the  employment  of  her 
commercial  and  industrial  activity. 

"  Gentlemen,  a  few  days  ago  we  were  under  the  painful  im- 
pression that  the  Conference  w^ould  open  with  three  sister  republics 
at  war.  To-day  I  have  the  great  satisfaction  of  announcing  to 
you  that,  thanks  to  the  good  offices  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  and  of  the  President  of  Mexico,  as  w'ell  as  to  the  patriotism 
and  American  sentiment  of  the  three  governments  and  nations  that 
had  appealed  to  the  decision  of  arms,  perfect  peace  now  reigns 
tliroughout  our  continent.  The  Third  International  American  Con- 
ference is  now  open." 

Dr.  Asencion  Esquivel,  ex-president  of  Costa  Rica,  and  delegate 
from  that  country,  was  called  upon  to  reply,  which  he  did  as 
follows : 

"Mr.  Minister:  The  delegates  to  the  Third  International 
American  Conference  have  conferred  upon  me  the  high  honor  of 
replying  to  the  able  discourse  wdiich  you  have  just  delivered,  and 
which  is  destined  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  whole  world  be- 
cause of  the  sound  wisdom  underlying  the  declarations  made  in 
the  name  of  the  distinguished  Government  of  Brazil. 

"  The  history  of  the  Pan-American  Conferences  shows  that 


INTERNATIONAL     CONFERENCE       283 

they  have  always  conducted  their  dehberations  within  tlie  limits  of 
equity  and  an  enlightened  patriotism,  and  if  it  is  true  that  their 
work  is  slow,  and  the  ideals  sought  have  not  yet  been  realized,  yet 
our  sincere  applause  cannot  be  withheld  from  the  efforts  \vhich 
in  past  Conferences  have  been  made  to  establish  peace  on  a  firm 
basis,  and  to  develop  those  interests  which  will  contribute  to  the 
greater  w^ell-being  of  all  the  Republics  of  the  Continent. 

"  This  W'Ork  will  be  continued  by  the  present  Conference. 
We  did  not  know  what  the  attitude  of  the  Brazilian  Government 
would  be  with  regard  to  the  apprehension  which  Europe  has  mani- 
fested over  the  work  of  our  assembly.  We  could  not  doubt,  how- 
ever, in  view  of  the  high  state  of  culture  of  the  Brazilian  people, 
that  the  Government  would  not  forget  the  ties  that  unite  us  to 
Europe,  nor  did  we  believe  that  it  would  lend  its  sanction  to  the 
formation  of  leagues  against  interests  not  represented  in  the 
Conference. 

"  We  have  heard  with  great  satisfaction  the  views  expressed 
by  the  Minister  of  State,  and  we,  on  our  part,  wish  to  express  the 
belief  that  the  advantages  we  offer  to  commercial  enterprises  have 
been  of  inestimable  benefit  to  us,  because  of  the  important  elements 
which  w^e  in  exchange  have  obtained  for  our  progress ;  we  believe 
we  should  preserve  these  advantages,  maintaining  our  doors  open 
to  the  trade  of  all  nations  for  mutual  benefit,  and  without  other 
restrictions  than  those  which  each  country  may  find  necessary  to 
adopt  for  the  safeguard  of  its  interests. 

"  We  begin  our  task  with  the  faith  which  our  high  purposes  in- 
spire. If  anything  is  done  toward  promoting  peace  and  progress 
it  will  be  mainly  due  to  the  esteemed  Government  of  Brazil,  which 
has  worked  effectively  to  bring  about  the  Conference,  and  to  which 
we  present  our  grateful  acknowledgments  for  its  cordial  welcome 
and  generous  hospitality." 

His  Excellency  Sefior  Nabuco  was  appointed  Permanent 
President,  and  upon  assuming  the  duties  of  his  office  he,  in  an 
eloquent  address,  expressed  his  appreciation  of  the  honor  conferred 
upon  him. 

His  Excellency  Baron  de  Rio  Branco  and  the  Hon.  Elihu 
Root,  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  were  unanimously 
elected  Honorary  Presidents,  and  Dr.  Assis-Brasil,  Secretary- 
General. 


284.  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

At  the  second  session  of  the  Conference  it  was  decided  to 
hold  a  special  meeting  in  honor  of  the  Hon.  Elihu  Root,  which 
took  pla-ce  on  the  evening  of  July  31,  when  His  Excellency  Sehor 
Nabuco,  President  of  the  Conference,  and  the  Hon.  Elihu  Root, 
Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  delivered  the  following 
notable  speeches. 


MINISTER    NABUCO  S    SPEECH 

Mr.  Secretary  of  State:  It  is  not  as  a  stranger  that  you 
come  here  this  evening  to  take  your  place  as  one  of  the  Honorary 
Presidents  of  this  Conference,  You  were  the  first  to  express  the 
desire  that  it  should  be  held  this  year.  It  was  you  who  in  Wash- 
ington carried  on  to  its  successful  conclusion  the  difficult  work 
of  preparing  its  programme  and  regulations.  Nor  can  we  forget 
that  at  one  time  you  even  expected  to  be  one  of  us,  a  plan  which 
you  abandoned  only  that  you  might  divide  your  time  among  the 
different  republics  which  to-day  receive  your  visit. 

The  meeting  of  this  Conference  is  thus  largely  your  work. 
From  the  time  you  assumed  your  high  station  there  is  nothing  in 
which  you  have  taken  a  more  direct  and  personal  interest.  In 
the  spirit  with  which  you  are  animated  toward  our  continent,  you 
seem  to  foreshadow  the  high  place  your  name  is  to  take  in  history. 

You  and  the  Conference  thoroughly  understand  each  other. 
The  periodical  reunion  of  this  body,  composed  exclusively  of 
American  nations,  signifies  assuredly  that  America  forms  a  political 
system  different  from  that  of  Europe,  a  constellation  having  its 
own  distinct  orbit. 

While  working  for  the  common  civilization,  striving  to  make 
the  space  we  occupy  on  the  globe  a  vast  neutral  zone  of  peace,  we 
are  working  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  world.  In  this  way  we 
offer  to  the  people,  wealth,  and,  initiative  of  Europe,  a  much  wider 
and  safer  field  of  action  in  our  hemisphere  than  we  should  if  we 
formed  a  disunited  continent,  or  belonged  to  the  belligerent  camps 
into  which  the  New  World  may  yet  be  divided.  One  point  will 
be  of  great  interest  to  you  who  so  greatly  desire  the  success  of  this 
Conference.  It  is  that  the  Conference  is  convinced  that  its  mission 
is  not  to  force  any  of  the  states  composing  it  to  accept  anything 
which  they  would  not  be  ready  to  do  of  their  own  free  will;    it 


INTERNATIONAL     CONFERENCE       285 

recognizes  that  its  function  alone  is  to  give  its  collective  sanction 
to  what  has  already  become  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  whole 
continent. 

This  is  the  first  time  that  an  American  Secretary  of  State 
makes  an  official  visit  to  foreign  countries,  and  we  rejoice  that 
this  first  visit  has  been  reserved  for  Latin  America.  You  will 
find  everywhere  the  same  admiration  for  your  great  country,  whose 
influence  in  the  advancement  of  learning,  political  liberty,  and 
international  law  has  already  begun  to  counterbalance  that  of  the 
rest  of  the  world.  Mingled  with  this  admiration,  you  will  find 
the  sentiment  that  you  cannot  elevate  yourselves  without  raising 
the  whole  continent  with  you,  and  that  in  all  the  progress  you 
make  we  shall  have  our  share. 

There  are  few  lists  of  names  in  history  as  brilliant  as  that 
of  the  men  who  have  occupied  your  high  office.  To  make  any 
selection  from  among  them-  because  of  personal  worth  would  be 
unjust.  A  few  names,  however,  which  shine  out  more  brightly 
in  history,  such  as  Jefferson,  Monroe,  Webster,  Clay,  Seward,  and 
Blaine,  are  sufficient  to  show  to  the  foreigner  that  the  United 
States  has  always  had  as  much  pride  and  shown  as  much  zeal  in 
the  selection  of  its  Secretaries  of  State  as  in  that  of  its  Presidents. 
We  fully  realize  the  great  prominence  given  to  this  Conference 
by  the  part  you  are  to-day  taking  in  it. 

It  is  with  genuine  pleasure  that  we  receive  you.  Here,  you 
may  be  sure,  you  are  surrounded  with  the  respect  of  our  continent 
for  your  great  country,  for  President  Roosevelt,  who  has  become, 
during  his  administration,  and  will  continue  to  be  in  whatever  posi- 
tion in  public  life  he  may  decide  to  occupy,  one  of  the  leaders 
of  humanity,  and  for  you  yourself,  whose  spirit  of  justice  and 
sincere  interest  in  the  prosperity  of  all  the  American  nations  reflect 
the  noblest  aspirations  of  the  greatest  among  your  predecessors. 

This  voyage  of  yours  proves  to  the  whole  world  your  good 
faith  as  a  statesman,  and  your  sympathy  as  an  American.  It 
shows  your  scrupulous  care  in  wishing  to  correctly  inform  the 
President  and  the  country  with  regard  to  the  foundation  of  our 
international  policy.  You  are  opening  up  political  seas  "  never 
before  navigated,"  lands  not  yet  revealed  to  the  genius  of  your 
statesmen,  and  to  which  they  are  attracted  only,  as  we  are  all 
attracted  one  to  another,  by  the  irresistible  gravitation  of  the  conti- 
nent.    We  are  all  certain,  therefore,  that  at  the  end  of  your  long 


286  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

journey  you  must  feel  and  confess  that  in  ideals  and  heart  the 
American  republics  already  form  in  the  world  a  great  political 
unity. 

SECRETARY    ROOT'S   SPEECH 

Mr,  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Third  Confer- 
ence OF  American  Republics  :  I  beg  you  to  believe  that  I  highly 
appreciate  and  thank  you  for  the  honor  you  do  me. 

I  bring  from*  my  country  a  special  greeting  to  her  elder  sisters 
in  the  civilization  of  America. 

Unlike  as  we  are  in  many  respects,  we  are  alike  in  this,  that  we 
are  all  engaged  under  new  conditions,  and  free  from  the  traditional 
forms  and  limitations  of  the  Old  World  in  working  out  the  same 
problem  of  popular  self-government. 

It  is  a  difficult  and  laborious  task  for  each  of  us.  Not  in  one 
generation  nor  in  one  century  can  the  effective  control  of  a  superior 
sovereign,  so  long  deiemed  necessary  to  government,  be  rejected, 
and  effective  self-control  by  the  governed  be  perfected  in  its  place. 
The  first  fruits  of  democracy  are  many  of  them  crude  and  unlovely : 
its  mistakes  are  many,  its  partial  failures  many,  its  sins  not  few. 
Capacity  for  self-government  does  not  come  to  man  by  nature. 
It  is  an  art  to  be  learned,  and  it  is  also  an  expression  of  character 
to  be  developed  among  all  the  thousands  of  men  who  exercise  popu- 
lar sovereignty. 

To  reach  the  goal  toward  which  we  are  pressing  forward,  the 
governing  multitude  must  first  acquire  knowledge  that  comes  from 
universal  education,  wisdom  that  follows  practical  experience,  per- 
sonal independence  and  self-respect  befitting  men  who  acknowledge 
no  superior,  self-control  to  replace  that  external  control  which  a 
democracy  rejects,  respect  for  law,  obedience  to  the  lawful  ex- 
pressions of  the  public  will,  consideration  for  the  opinions  and 
interests  of  others  equally  entitled  to  a  voice  in  the  state,  loyalty 
to  that  abstract  conception — one's  country — as  inspiring  as  that 
loyalty  to  personal  sovereigns  which  has  so  illumined  the  pages 
of  history,  subordination  of  personal  interests  to  the  public  good, 
love  of  justice  and  mercy,  of  liberty  and  order.  All  these  we  must 
seek  by  slow  and  patient  effort;  and  of  how  many  shortcomings 
in  his  own  land  and  among  his  own  people  each  one  of  us  is 
conscious. 


INTERNATIONAL     CONFERENCE       287 

Yet  no  student  of  our  times  can  fail  to  see  that  not  America 
alone,  but  the  whole  civilized  world,  is  swinging-  away  from  its 
old  governmental  moorings,  and  entrusting  the  fate  of  its  civiliza- 
tion to  the  capacity  of  the  popular  mass  to  govern.  By  this  path- 
way mankind  is  to  travel,  whithersoever  it  leads.  Upon  the  success 
of  this  our  undertaking   the  hope  of  humanity  depends. 

Nor  can  we  fail  to  see  that  the  world  makes  substantial 
progress  toward  more  perfect  popular  self-government. 

I  believe  it  to  be  true  that,  viewed  against  the  background 
of  conditions,  a  century,  a  generation,  a  decade  ago,  government  in 
my  own  country  has  advanced,  in  the  intelligent  participation  of 
the  great  mass  of  the  people,  in  the  fidelity  and  honesty  with  which 
they  are  represented,  in  respect  for  law,  in  obedience  to  the  dictates 
of  a  sound  morality,  and  in  effectiveness  and  purity  of  admin- 
istration. 

Nowhere  in  the  world  has  this  progress  been  more  marked 
than  in  Latin  America.  Out  of  the  wrack  of  Indian  fighting  and 
race  conflicts  and  civil  wars  strong  and  stable  governments  have 
arisen.  Peaceful  succession  in  accord  with  the  people's  will  has 
replaced  the  forcible  seizure  of  power  permitted  by  the  people's 
indifference.  Loyalty  to  country,  its  peace,  its  dignity,  its  honor, 
has  risen  above  partisanship  for  individual  leaders.  The  rule  of 
law  supersedes  the  rule  of  man.  Property  is  protected  and  the 
fruits  of  enterprise  are  secure.  Individual  liberty  is  respected. 
Continuous  public  policies  are  followed;  national  faith  is  held 
sacred.  Progress  has  not  been  equal  everywhere,  but  there 
has  been  progress  everywhere.  The  movement  in  the  right  direc- 
tion is  general.  The  right  tendency  is  not  exceptional,  it  is  con- 
tinental. The  present  affords  just  cause  for  satisfaction;  the 
future  is  bright  with  hope. 

It  is  not  by  national  isolation  that  these  results  have  been 
accomplished,  or  that  this  progress  can  be  continued.  No  nation 
can  live  unto  itself  alone  and  continue  to  live.  Each  nation's 
growth  is  a  part  of  the  development  of  the  race.  There  may  be 
leaders  and  there  may  be  laggards,  but  no  nation  can  long  continue 
very  far  in  advance  of  the  general  progress  of  mankind,  and  no 
nation  that  is  not  doomed  to  extinction  can  remain  very  far  behind. 
It  is  with  nations  as  it  is  with  individual  men ;  intercourse,  asso- 
ciation, correction  of  egotism  by  the  influence  of  others'  judgment, 
broadening  of  views  by  the  experience  and   thought  of  equals, 


288  SOUTH     AMERICA 

acceptance  of  the  moral  standards  of  a  community  the  desire  for 
whose  good  opinion  lends  a  sanction  to  the  rules  of  right  con- 
duct— these  are  the  conditions  of  growth  in  civilization.  A  people 
whose  minds  are  not  open  to  the  lessons  of  the  world's  progress, 
whose  spirits  are  not  stirred  by  the  aspirations  and  the  achieve- 
ments of  humanity  struggling  the  world  over  for  liberty  and 
justice,  must  be  left  behind  by  civilization,  in  its  steady  and  benefi- 
cent advance. 

To  promote  this  mutual  interchange  and  assistance  between 
the  American  republics,  engaged  in  the  same  great  task,  inspired 
by  the  same  purpose,  and  professing  the  same  principles,  I  under- 
stand to  be  the  function  of  the  American  Conference  now  in 
session.  There  is  not  one  of  all  our  countries  that  cannot  benefit 
the  others;  there  is  not  one  that  cannot  receive  benefit  from  the 
others;  there  is  not  one  that  will  not  gain  by  the  prosperity,  the 
peace,  the  happiness  of  all. 

According  to  your  programme,  no  great  and  impressive  single 
thing  is  to  be  done  by  you;  no  political  questions  are  to  be  dis- 
cussed; no  controversies  are  to  be  settled;  no  judgment  is  to  be 
passed  upon  the  conduct  of  any  state;  but  many  subjects  are  to 
be  considered,  which  afford  the  possibility  of  removing  barriers 
to  intercourse,  of  ascertaining  for  the  common  benefit  what  ad- 
vances have  been  made  by  each  nation  in  knowledge,  in  experience, 
in  enterprise,  in  the  solution  of  difficult  cjuestions  of  government, 
and  in  ethical  standards,  of  perfecting  our  knowledge  of  each 
other,  and  of  doing  away  with  the  misconceptions,  the  misunder- 
standings, and  the  resultant  prejudices,  that  are  such  fruitful 
sources  of  controversy. 

And  there  are  some  subjects  in  the  programme  which  invite 
discussion  that  may  lead  the  American  republics  toward  agree- 
ment upon  principles,  the  general  practical  application  of  which 
can  come  only  in  the  future,  through  long  and  patient  effort.  Some 
advance,  at  least,  may  be  made  here  toward  the  complete  rule  of 
justice  and  peace  among  nations  in  lieu  of  force  and  war. 

The  association  of  so  many  eminent  men  from  all  the  re- 
publics, leaders  of  opinion  in  their  own  homes,  and  the  friendships 
that  will  arise  among  you,  the  habit  of  temperate  and  kindly  dis- 
cussion of  matters  of  common  interest,  the  ascertainment  of  com- 
mon sympathies  and  aims,  the  dissipation  of  misunderstandings, 
the  exhibition  to  all  the  American  peoples  of  this  peaceful  and  con- 


INTERNATIONAL     CONFERENCE      289 

siderate  metliod  of  conferring  upon  international  questions,  this 
alone,  quite  irrespective  of  the  resolutions  you  may  adopt,  and 
the  conventions  you  may  sign,  will  mark  a  substantial  advance  in 
the  direction  of  international  good  understanding. 

These  beneficent  results  the  government  and  the  people  of  the 
United  States  of  America  greatly  desire.  We  wish  for  no  victories 
but  those  of  peace ;  for  no  territory  except  our  own ;  for  no 
sovereignty  except  the  sovereignty  over  ourselves.  W'e  deem  the 
independence  and  equal  rights  of  the  smallest  and  weakest  mem- 
ber of  the  family  of  nations  entitled  to  as  much  respect  as  those 
of  the  greatest  empire,  and  we  deem  the  observance  of  that  respect 
the  chief  guarantee  of  the  weak  against  the  oppression  of  the  strong. 
We  neither  claim  nor  desire  any  rights,  or  privileges,  or  powers 
that  we  do  not  freely  concede  to  every  American  republic.  We 
wish  to  increase  our  prosperity,  to  expand  our  trade,  to  grow  in 
wealth,  in  wisdom,  and  in  spirit,  but  our  conception  of  the  true 
way  to  accomplish  this  is  not  to  pull  down  others  and  profit  by 
their  ruin,  but  to  help  all  friends  to  a  common  prosperity  and  a 
common  growth,  that  we  may  all  become  greater  and  stronger 
together. 

Within  a  few  months,  for  the  first  time  the  recognized  pos- 
sessors of  every  foot  of  soil  upon  the  American  continents  can  be, 
and  I  hope  will  be,  represented  with  the  acknowledged  rights 
of  equal  sovereign  states  in  the  great  World  Congress  at  The 
Hague.  This  will  be  the  world's  formal  and  final  acceptance 
of  the  declaration  that  no  part  of  the  American  continents  is  to  be 
deemed  subject  to  colonization.  Let  us  pledge  ourselves  to  aid 
each  other  in  the  full  performance  of  the  duty  to  humanity  which 
that  accepted  declaration  implies,  so  that  in  time  the  weakest  and 
most  unfortunate  of  our  republics  may  come  to  march  with  equal 
step  by  the  side  of  the  stronger  and  more  fortunate.  Let  us  help 
each  other  to  show  that,  for  all  the  races  of  men,  the  Liberty  for 
which  we  have  fought  and  labored  is  the  twin  sister  of  Justice 
and  Peace. 

Let  us  unite  in  creating  and  maintaining  and  making 
effective  an  ail-American  public  opinion,  whose  power  shall  in- 
fluence international  conduct  and  prevent  international  wrong,  and 
narrow  the  causes  of  war,  and  forever  preserve  our  free  lands  from 
the  burden  of  such  armaments  as  are  massed  behind  the  frontiers 
of  Europe,  and  bring  us  ever  nearer  to  the  perfection  of  ordered 


290  SOUTH    AMERICA 

liberty.     So  shall  come  security  and  prosperity,   production  and 
trade,  wealth,  learning,  the  arts,  and  happiness  for  us  all. 

Not  in  a  single  conference,  nor  by  a  single  effort,  can  very 
much  be  done.  You  labor  more  for  the  future  than  for  the  present ; 
but  if  the  right  impulse  be  given,  if  the  right  tendency  be  estab- 
lished, the  work  you  do  here  will  go  on  among  all  the  millions  of 
people  in  the  American  continents  long  after  your  final  adjourn- 
ment, long  after  your  lives,  with  incalculable  benefit  to  all  our 
beloved  countries,  which  may  it  please  God  to  continue  free  and 
independent  and  happy  for  ages  to  come. 


LATIN   AMERICA   AND  COLOMBIA' 

By  Hon.  John  Barrett 
United  States  Minister  to  Colombia 

TOO  much  emphasis  cannot  be  laid  upon  the  character  and 
significance  of  Mr.  Root's  tour  of  South  America.  It 
has  not  been  fully  appreciated  in  the  United  States.  The 
natural  modesty  of  the  Secretary  of  State  has  kept  him  from  de- 
scribing the  cordiality  of  the  treatment  he  received  at  the  hands  of 
the  South  Americans.  The  press  of  the  United  States,  while  fol- 
lowing Mr.  Root's  trip,  failed  to  catch  the  spirit  and  greatness  of 
the  reception,  as  was  plainly  shown  by  the  South  American  press. 
We  of  North  America  should  be  profoundly  grateful  to  all  South 
America  for  the  way  it  received  Mr,  Root.  It  was  a  splendid  com- 
pliment to  us,  which  we  have  failed  to  reciprocate  in  any  ex- 
pression of  approbation.  Many  of  us  remember  the  honors 
showered  upon  Admiral  Dewey  when  he  arrived  in  this  country 
after  his  Philippine  achievements.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  state 
that  Mr.  Root  was  greeted  with  a  Dewey  reception  in  every  capital 
of  South  America  which  he  visited.  There  was  no  lack  of  real 
enthusiasm  in  the  cheers  and  plaudits  of  the  throngs  that  bade  him 
welcome.  Those  of  us  who  have  lived  in  South  America  know 
the  difference  between  a  reception  that  is  heartfelt  and  one  that 
is  perfunctory.  In  no  place  was  the  recention  of  our  Secretary  of 
State  perfunctoiy. 

In  each  capital  and  city  where  he  was  the  guest  he  was  given 
every  attention  possible.  Had  he  been  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  or  a  European  monarch,  more  could  not  have  been  done 
for  him.  The  South  Americans  were  grateful,  and  wished  to  show 
their  gratitude,  because  we  sent  to  them  one  of  our  greatest  men. 
They  appreciated  the  fact  that  he  is  the  premier  of  our  cabinet; 
that  he  is  regarded  as  one  of  our  ablest  lawyers,  as  well  as  being 
a  high-class  and  distinguished  politician,  and  that  he  represents 
the  intellectual,  as  well  as  the  material,  side  of  our  progress.  In 
short,  they  looked  upon  him  as  the  best  we  could  send,  as  an 
^  Contributed  through  the   courtesy  of  The  National  Geographic  Society. 

291 


292  SOUTH     AMERICA 

ambassador  of  good-will,  next  to  the  President  himself.  Hereto- 
fore every  South  American  country  had  been  visited  by  princes 
and  distinguished  statesmen  of  different  European  countries,  but 
the  United  States,  in  the  passing  of  years,  had  seemed  to  neglect 
South  America,  as  if  it  were  not  worthy  of  the  recognition  which 
Europe  had  given  it.  When,  therefore,  the  United  States,  through 
the  sagacity  of  President  Roosevelt,  arose  to  the  occasion  and 
sent  one  of  its  foremost  statesmen.  South  America  returned  the 
compliment  with  a  reception  unsurpassed  in  the  history  of  the 
western  hemisphere.  Now  it  behooves  the  United  States  to  take 
advantage  of  what  Mr.  Root  has  done  by  fostering  in  every  way 
a  movement  throughout  our  country  for  greater  intercourse  and 
acquaintance  with  Latin  America,  from  Mexico  to  Argentina. 

The  time  is  at  hand  that  calls  for  what  might  be  termed  a 
widespread  Latin-American  movement  in  the  United  States.  The 
commercial  and  economic  possibilities  and  social  conditions  and 
progress  of  our  southern  neighbors  invite  our  immediate  and  par- 
ticular attention.  To  say  that  it  may  be  "  now  or  never "  with 
North  American  prestige  and  trade  in  Central  and  South  America 
is  not  a  statement  of  an  alarmist  or  pessimist.  It  is  a  simple  and 
logical  conclusion  drawn  from  a  thorough  study  of  the  actual 
situation. 

There  never  was  a  period  in  the  history  of  the  relations  of 
the  United  States  with  her  sister  American  republics  that  afforded 
such  combined  opportunity  and  necessity  as  the  present  for  the 
development  not  only  of  our  moral  influence,  but  of  our  commer- 
cial interests.  On  the  other  hand,  there  never  was  a  time  when 
European  nations  and  business  interests  put  forth  such  efforts  as 
they  are  now  legitimately  exerting  to  increase  their  own  prestige 
and  trade  in  South  America.  Although  the  situation  should  be 
one  of  closest  rivalry,  where  the  United  States  can  and  ought  to 
win,  if  it  does  not  give  Europe  too  long  a  start,  the  advantage 
now  is  decidedly  with  the  latter.  There  is  no  gainsaying  the 
fact  that  Latin  America  to-day  is  strongly  inclined  to  be  more 
sympathetic,  in  its  actual  likes  and  dislikes,  with  the  Old  World 
than  with  the  United  States,  because  of  plain  reasons  of  race, 
language,  and  association. 

Many  of  our  sister  republics  are  now  making  a  progress 
that  challenges  the  attention  and  respect  of  the  world.  Some  of 
them  are  going  forward  with  such  splendid  energy  that  they  are 


L  A  T  I  N     A  ]M  E  R  I  C  A  293 

running'  a  close  race  with  the  past  records  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  present  achievements  of  Japan.  Others  are  on  the  verge 
of  a  progressive  growth  that  will  astonish  skeptical  critics  of  the 
Latin  race,  and  delight  knowing  admirers  of  their  latent  pos- 
sibilities. 

In  short,  it  is  safe  to  predict  a  forward  movement  during  the 
next  decade  for  the  Latin-American  republics  that  will  give  them 
a  position  and  prominence  among  the  nations  of  the  earth  not 
thought  possible  a  few  years  ago.  It  will  bring  to  them  a  com- 
merce for  w^hich  the  United  States  and  Europe  will  compete  with 
every  resource  at  their  command. 

I  admit  that  I  seem  to  talk  with  an  element  of  prejudice. 
Frankly,  I  like  Latin  America,  and  the  Latin  peoples!  The  more 
I  see  of  them  the  better  I  respect  them.  Would  that  more  North 
Americans  could  become  better  acquainted  with  South  Americans, 
study  more  intimately  their  impulses,  ambitions,  hopes,  achieve- 
ments, and  see  things  from  the  Latin-American  standpoint.  Other- 
wise expressed,  it  would  be  a  signal  blessing  to  international  Pan- 
American  accord,  and  it  would  inaugurate  immediately  a  new  era 
in  the  relations  of  the  United  States  with  her  sister  American 
republics,  if,  in  thinking,  writing,  and  speaking  of  them,  their 
peoples,  and  their  politics,  we  could  follow  the  old  Biblical  adage 
and  remove  the  beam  from  our  own  eye  before  looking  for  the 
moat  in  that  of  the  Latin-American. 

The  United  States  has  reached  a  most  critical  period  in  its 
relations  with  Latin  America.  What  is  done  or  accomplished 
during  the  next  two  years  may  determine  forever  the  relative 
position  of  North  American  trade  and  prestige  in  Central  and 
South  America.  The  recent  Pan-American  Conference  in  Rio 
Janeiro,  and  the  unprecedented  visit  of  Secretary  Root  to  South 
America,  should  awaken  sufficient  interest  throughout  the  United 
States  in  this  part  of  the  world  to  inspire  our  people  in  general, 
and  our  newspapers,  our  manufacturers,  our  merchants,  our  con- 
gressmen, our  travelers,  and  our  students  of  foreign  intercourse 
in  particular,  to  a  new  and  active  appreciation  of  the  Latin-Ameri- 
can republics. 

Without  half  the  reason  we  have  for  improving  the  oppor- 
tunity, European  commercial,  financial,  and  diplomatic  interests, 
with  commendable  judgment  and  spirit,  which  we  cannot  criticise, 
but  must  admire,  are  alive  to  the  situation  and  doing  everything 


294  SOUTH     AMERICA 

legitimately  in  their  power  to  retain  a  hold  of  which  they  cannot 
be  dispossessed.  They  keenly  realize  the  present  and  future  possi- 
bilities of  the  material  and  economic  exploitation  of  Latin  America, 
and  they  are  leaving  no  stone  unturned  to  gain  the  necessary  ad- 
vantages before  the  manufacturers  and  tradesmen  of  the  United 
States  suddenly  become  aroused  to  the  situation  and  compete  for 
its  control. 

A  great  factor  unfavorable  to  North  American  trade  and 
influence  in  Latin  America  is  the  essential  difference  in  lineage  and 
language;  but  this  point  is  little  appreciated.  The  power  of 
similarity  in  race  and  tongue  is  mighty.  Kinship  in  these  respects 
brings  men  closer  together.  It  makes  them  more  sympathetic,  and 
this  counts  much  in  Latin  countries.  The  average  North  American, 
instead  of  carefully  studying  methods  of  counterbalancing  these 
adverse  conditions  to  his  progress  in  Latin  America  and  of  adapt- 
ing himself  thereto,  undertakes  an  independent  line  of  action,  and 
ultimately  fails  in  his  purpose. 

A  second  great  factor  is  corollary  to  the  first,  and  it  is  one  of 
which,  in  our  seeming  abundance  of  knowledge  and  self-confidence, 
we  are  lamentably  ignorant.  Frankly  termed,  it  should  be  called 
the  "  holier  than  thou "  attitude  too  commonly  and  persistently 
assumed  by  North  American  statesmen,  newspapers,  writers,  trav- 
elers, and  business  agents,  when  discussing  or  dealing  with  Latin 
America.  In  other  words,  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  too 
often  and  too  persistently  and  characteristically  "  patronized  "  the 
peoples,  customs,  institutions,  achievements,  and  governments  of 
their  sister  American  nations.  Per  contra,  we  should  give  Latin 
America  more  credit  for  its  actual  and  praiseworthy  progress  in 
developing  stable  national  and  municipal  government,  in  promot- 
ing both  high-class  and  general  education,  in  making  its  own  ex- 
cellent literature,  historical  and  romantic,  in  advancing  scientific 
investigation  and  invention,  in  solving  grave  social  and  economic 
problems,  and  comprehensively  striving,  under  difficult  conditions, 
to  reach  a  higher  standard  of  civilization. 

How  few  North  Americans  realize  that  Latin-American  his- 
tory during  the  last  four  centuries  is  replete  with  incident  and 
event,  names  and  results,  that  compare  creditably  with  those  of 
the  United  States,  Europe,  and  Asia!  How  few  know  the  names 
of  the  great  heroes,  statesmen,  writers,  and  scholars  who  have 
figured   prominently   in   evolving   the   Latin   America   of  to-day! 


LATIN     AMERICA  295 

How  few  are  aware  that  the  principal  countries  and  capitals  of 
Latin  America  have  groups  of  eminent  scholars,  scientists,  and 
philosophers,  as  well  as  universities  and  professional  schools,  which 
are  no  less  advanced  than  similar  groups  and  institutions  in  the 
United  States  and  Europe! 

How  few  North  Americans,  moreover,  of  high  position  in 
public  life,  in  literary,  scholastic,  and  scientific  circles,  visit  Latin 
America,  and  exchange  courtesies  with  their  fellow-statesmen  and 
students,  as  they  do  with  those  of  Europe!  No  greater  blessing 
to  Pan-American  accord  could  now  be  bestowed  than  an  exchange 
of  actual  visits  and  views  of  the  leaders  of  Pan-American  thought 
and  action.  Latin  America  is  too  much  accustomed  to  seeing  and 
meeting  only  those  North  Americans  who  are  intent  on  making 
money,  securing  this  and  that  concession,  and  thinking  only  of 
selfish  material  considerations  and  a  return,  with  pockets  filled, 
as  soon  as  possible  to  the  United  States. 

A  change,  a  renaissance  in  higher-class  association,  acquaint- 
ance, and  friendship,  will  not  only  start  an  era  of  good-will  and 
better  mutual  appreciation,  but  indirectly  prove  of  extraordinary 
advantage  to  commerce  and  trade.  European  countries  long  ago 
realized  the  distinct  advantage  of  such  intercourse  with  and  knowl- 
edge of  Latin  America,  and  have  improved  every  opportunity  to 
promote  more  intimate  acquaintance. 

As  to  language,  it  is  difficult  to  speak  with  patience.  So 
small  is  the  percentage  of  North  Americans  visiting  Latin  America, 
on  business  or  pleasure,  who  speak  Spanish,  Portuguese,  or  French, 
that  it  is  a  wonder  they  make  any  progress  in  their  plans.  Ninety- 
five  per  cent,  of  the  Europeans  who  go  to  Central  and  South 
America  understand  one  of  these  tongues.  French  is  mentioned 
because  nearly  all  the  well-educated  Latin  Americans  speak  that 
language.  This  subject  requires  no  argument;  it  is  simply  im- 
possible for  the  North  American  who  knows  none  of  these  lan- 
guages to  become  thoroughly  "  simpatico,"  and  to  master  the  Latin 
point  of  view  in  either  commercial  or  political  relations.  I  would 
that  both  our  business  schools  and  regular  colleges  might  make 
the  study  of  either  Spanish,  French,  or  Portuguese  compulsory  in 
order  to  receive  a  diploma.  Portuguese  is  more  important  than 
is  generally  regarded,  because  it  is  the  working  language  of  Brazil 
— and  Brazil  to-day  is  taking  rank  as  one  of  the  great  nations  of 
the  world ;  but  the  average  well-to-do  Brazilian  also  speaks  French. 


296  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

In  studying  the  causes  that  act  as  deterrents  to  Pan-American 
accord,  we  must  emphasize  the  lack  of  first-class  passenger  and 
mail  steamship  service,  such  as  characterizes  the  systems  of  com- 
munication between  Europe  and  Latin  America.  The  long-estab- 
lished and  well-defined  association  of  Latin  Americans  with  Europe 
has  been  immeasurably  encouraged  by  the  excellence  of  steamship 
facilities,  which  have  given  them  ready  access  to  the  satisfactory 
conditions  found  there,  in  turn  for  business  transactions,  education 
of  families,  and  enjoyment  of  leisure  and  travel.  If  the  average 
merchant  and  traveler  of  South  America  could  reach  New  York 
with  the  same  comfort  and  speed  that  he  can  proceed  to  Paris, 
there  would  be  at  once  a  vast  and  radical  change  in  the  situation 
favorable  to  the  United  States. 

This  statement  is  not  made  as  an  argument  for  a  "  subsidized  " 
merchant  marine.  I  am  not  discussing  the  pros  and  cons  of  that 
mooted  issue.  I  am  simply  stating  a  fact  and  describing  a  situa- 
tion. That  there  is  not  one  first-class  fast  mail  and  passenger 
steamer  running  between  New  York,  in  the  United  States,  and 
such  important  South  American  points  as  Rio  Janeiro  and  Buenos 
Ayres  was  given  glaring  prominence  by  the  experience  of  the  dele- 
gates to  the  recent  Pan-American  Conference  in  Rio  Janeiro. 
Only  a  few  could  obtain  accommodations  on  the  one  little  vessel 
that,  with  its  sister  boat,  makes  monthly  trips  to  the  great  capital 
of  Brazil.  All  the  others  were  forced  to  go  via  Europe,  where  six 
different  lines  provide  a  score  of  splendid,  modern,  up-to-date, 
fast  ships  between  the  principal  ports  and  those  of  South 
America. 

No  Latin-American  merchant  or  capitalist  is  going  to  North 
America  on  a  slow  semi-cargo  boat,  with  limited  accommodations, 
when  there  are  numerous  fast  steamers  bound  for  Europe  with  as 
fine  arrangements  as  the  transatlantic  liners.  This  is  axiomatic; 
but  it  means  the  loss  of  millions  of  dollars  of  trade  to  the  United 
States  every  year,  according  to  the  direct  testimony  of  South 
Americans  themselves!  It  is  true  that  there  are  excellent  freight 
steamship  facilities  between  North  and  South  American  ports,  but 
they  do  not  meet  the  passenger  requirements  any  more  than  would 
a  purely  railway  freight  service  suit  the  traffic  between  New  York 
and  Chicago. 

Too  much  importance  is  now  attached  in  the  United  States 
to  the  idea  that  revolutions  prevail  all  over  Latin  America,  and 


LATIN     AMERICA  297 

that  therefore  commerce  and  investments  are  insecure.  This  con- 
ception of  Latin  America  as  a  whole  is  entirely  erroneous,  and 
does  our  progressive  sister  republics  a  great  injustice.  The  conti- 
nent of  South  America  to-day  is  free  of  serious  insurrectionary 
movements,  with  few,  if  any,  indications  of  more  civil  wars.  The 
tendency  of  public  opinion  and  the  powerful  influence  of  large 
business  interests  in  such  great  nations  as  Mexico,  Brazil,  Argen- 
tina, Chili,  and  Peru  are  all  against  revolutionary  movements,  and, 
although  now  and  then  some  slight  sporadic  attempt  shows  itself, 
it  is  most  difficult  for  it  to  grow  into  dangerous  proportions.  Then, 
again,  the  gridironing  of  these  countries  with  railways  permits 
the  immediate  sending  of  troops  to  any  place  and  crushing  without 
delay  incipient  revolts. 

Turning  now  to  the  direct  consideration  of  Colombia  as  a 
land  of  great  possibilities,  I  wish  first  to  invite  your  attention  to 
its  remarkable  location.  Colombia  is  the  only  South  American 
country  that  borders  on  both  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific.  It  therefore 
holds  a  position  of  strategic  value  in  the  development  of  its  com- 
merce, and  in  its  relationship  to  the  Panama  Canal,  possessed  by 
no  other  Latin-American  nation.  It  is  the  nearest  South  American 
country  to  the  Gulf  and  Atlantic  ports,  and  to  the  Pacific  ports  of 
the  United  States.  It  is  the  only  South  American  country  that 
has  direct  access  by  w^ater  to  both  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  shores 
of  Central  America  and  Mexico.  It  is  the  one  South  American 
republic  that  will  benefit  more  than  all  others  by  the  construction 
of  the  transisthmian  canal.  It  has  in  all  a  coast  line  of  1200  to 
1500  miles — about  700  miles  on  each  coast,  including  the  windings 
of  its  principal  bays  and  sea  inlets.  Along  both  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  shores  are  one  or  two  excellent  harbors,  wnth  lesser  ones 
that  can  be  improved  by  dredging,  or  the  building  of  jetties.  In 
short,  it  is  splendidly  equipped  by  location  to  develop  a  large  for- 
eign trade.  To  give  a  practical  idea  of  the  location  of  Colombia 
to  the  United  States,  it  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  the  following  facts : 

(i)  The  least  distance  between  Colombia  and  the  United 
States  is  only  950  miles. 

(2)  From  Cartagena  to  Tampa,  Florida,  is  less  distance  by 
sea  than  from  New  York  to  St.  Louis  by  land. 

(3)  From  Cartagena  to  New  Orleans  is  only  1400  miles,  or 
four  days'  easy  steaming. 

(4)  From   Barranquilla,   another   Colombian   port,   to   Nev.' 


298  S  0  U  T  H     A  IVI  E  R  I  C  A 

York  is  almost  a  straight  line,  due  north,  less  than  1900  miles,  and 
five  days'  easy  steaming. 

(5)  Colombia  is  nearer  than  Panama  to  the  majority  of  At- 
lantic and  Gulf  ports  of  the  United  States, 

The  average  North  American  does  not  appreciate  the  size 
of  Colombia.  Inasmuch  as  there  are  eighteen  Latin  republics, 
there  is  a  tendency  to  think  that  all  of  them  must  be  small.  Noth- 
ing better  proves  the  material  possibilities  of  Colombia  than  to 
consider  its  great  area.  The  best  estimates,  based  on  the  most 
recent  surveys,  give  Colombia  an  area  of  nearly  500,000  square 
miles.  The  following  comparisons  may  enable  you  to  form  a 
clearer  idea  of  her  extent : 

(i)  Colombia  is  larger  than  Germany,  France,  and  Belgium 
combined, 

(2)  Larger  than  all  the  coast  States  of  the  United  States  from 
Maine  to  Florida  united. 

(3)  Larger  than  Illinois,  Indiana,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Min- 
nesota, Iowa,  Missouri,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee  merged  in  one 
State. 

(4)  As  large  as  California,  Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho,  and 
Nevada,  together. 

The  land  conformation  of  Colombia  provides  it  with  a  variety 
of  climate  that  adds  immeasurably  to  its  potentialities.  Notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  Colombia  is  all  in  the  tropical  zone  and  has 
a  considerable  portion  very  near  the  Equator,  there  are  large  sec- 
tions that  have  a  temperate  climate  in  the  real  sense  of  the  word, 
where  are  raised  all  the  products  of  the  temperate  zone,  and  where 
men  live  and  work  under  as  healthful  conditions  as  they  do  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  United  States.  The  Andean  mountains, 
or  Cordillera,  on  entering  Colombia  from  Ecuador  divide  into 
three  ranges,  respectively  the  Eastern,  Central,  and  Western  Cor- 
dillera, On  these  are  numerous  high  plateaus,  where  the  principal 
cities  of  the  interior  are  located  and  whose  population  is  prosperous 
and  progressive.  There  are  numerous  level  and  rolling  highlands 
in  Colombia  where  the  thermometer  seldom  goes  above  75  degrees 
Fahrenheit,  or  below  55  degrees.  At  elevations  of  between  5000 
and  10,000  feet  this  temperature  and  agreeable  climate  is  found, 
and  the  area  of  this  section  would  cover  that  of  the  New  England 
States,  with  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  combined. 

The  traveler  who  visits  either  the  Atlantic  or  Pacific  coasts 


LATIN     AMERICA  299 

of  Colombia  with  their  sea-level  altitude  and  their  tropical  heat 
gains  an  entirely  wrong  impression  of  what  he  would  find  if  he 
journeyed  into  the  interior.  Colombia  will  never  be  fully  ap- 
preciated or  understood  until  it  is  gridironed  with  railroads,  so  that 
visitors  can  go  immediately  from  the  seacoast  to  the  higher  sec- 
tions in  the  shortest  possible  time. 

Speaking  of  the  conformation  of  Colombia  reminds  me  to 
comment  on  the  marvelous  scenery  that  charms  one's  eyes  as  he 
travels  over  the  different  parts  of  the  Republic.  It  has  been  my 
privilege  to  view  the  best  panoramas  of  the  United  States  and 
Canada,  of  Switzerland,  and  the  Himalayas  in  India,  but  I  have 
never  seen  anything  to  equal  the  variety,  grandeur,  and  exquisite 
beauty  of  the  vistas  of  the  Colombian  Andes.  When,  by  the 
construction  of  the  Panama  Canal  and  by  favorable  conditions  of 
steamboat  and  railway  travel,  it  will  be  possible  for  American 
tourists  to  go  there  with  facility  and  comfort,  Colombia  will  be- 
come one  of  the  most-visited  countries,  both  on  account  of  the 
scenery  and  climate. 

Perhaps  it  is  possible  for  me  to  speak  on  this  matter  with 
some  authority  because  of  the  recent  overland  journey  which  I 
made,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Mahlon  C.  Martin,  a  prominent  Ameri- 
can of  Bogota,  from  the  capital  of  Colombia  via  Quito  to  Guaya- 
quil, Ecuador.  Although  the  first  object  of  this  journey  was  to 
meet  Mr.  Root  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America,  a  secondary 
purpose  was  to  study,  and  be  able  to  report  upon,  an  important 
section  of  South  America  never  before  traveled  or  visited  by  a 
North  American  official,  but  which  will  have  a  vast  material  and 
industrial  development  upon  the  opening  of  the  Panama  Canal. 
We  traveled  in  all  1500  miles,  of  which  iioo  miles  were  on  mule 
back.  We  spent  thirty-one  continuous  days  in  the  saddle  and  four 
days  on  railroads,  in  steamboats,  and  in  automobiles. 

Naturally  one  of  the  first  questions  asked  in  regard  to  Colom- 
bia is  how  one  gets  there,  and  how  he  reaches  the  capital.  The 
regular  route  is  as  follows:  One  goes  from  New  York  to  either 
Barranquilla  or  Cartagena,  on  the  Caribbean  coast.  There  are 
at  present  no  steamers  running  direct  to  these  places  without 
stopping  at  other  ports,  but  there  are  two  or  three  lines,  notably 
the  Hamburg-American,  with  the  Atlas  service,  and  the  Royal 
Mail,  which  touch  en  route  south  at  Kingston,  Jamaica,  and  either 
at  Colon,  Panama,  or  Port  Limon,  Costa  Rica,  as  well  as  at  Kings- 


300  SOUTH     AMERICA 

ton,  returning  north.  The  trip  usually  requires,  on  account  of 
stops,  about  nine  days. 

At  Barranquilla  the  river-steamer  up  the  river  can  be  taken, 
or,  as  some  prefer,  it  is  possible  to  go  to  Cartagena,  and  then 
by  rail  across  to  a  town  called  Calamar,  on  the  Magdalena  River, 
where  the  river  boat,  in  turn,  is  boarded.  Many  persons  visit 
Cartagena  in  order  to  see  the  city,  as  it  is  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing, historically  speaking,  in  all  the  western  hemisphere.  No  other 
city  in  North  or  South  America  has  such  wonderful  walls  as  those 
constructed  in  Cartagena  by  the  Spaniards  several  centuries  ago, 
at  a  cost  of  two  or  three  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  They  are 
still  standing,  in  almost  as  good  condition  as  when  constructed. 
The  journey  up  the  river  consumers  from  six  to  ten  days,  according 
to  the  condition  of  the  river.  Navigation  stops  at  a  town  called 
La  Dorada,  where  a  short  railroad  carries  the  passenger  to  Honda. 
At  Honda  it  is  possible  to  transfer  to  an  up-river,  or  smaller, 
steamer  and  proceed  for  a  two  days'  journey  to  a  town  called 
Giradot,  were  begins  the  railroad  that  will  eventually  reach  Bogota. 
At  the  present  time  this  railroad  reaches  a  paint  where  there 
must  be  a  mule-back  ride  of  from  sevgn  to  eight  hours  to  Fa- 
catativa,  the  railroad  station  on  the  plateau  of  Bogota,  which, 
after  a  run  of  thirty  miles  across  the  savanna,  lands  one  in  the 
capital. 

The  more  common  route,  however,  is  that  from  Honda  direct 
to  Bogota,  a  distance  of  about  eighty  miles,  or  two  and  a  half 
days'  traveling  on  mule  back.  It  is  not  as  difficult  as  it  would 
seem,  and  is  interesting  because  of  its  novelty,  and  the  beautiful 
scenery.  Mules  can  always  be  obtained  in  abundance  to  carry 
both  passengers  and  baggage.  Trunks  and  packages  should  not 
weigli  altogether,  for  one  mule,  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds,  and  should  be  arranged  so  that  no  one  piece  would  weigh 
more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds.  In  this  way 
two  pieces  of  baggage  are  carried  on  one  mule's  back.  Steamer 
trunks  should  always  be  taken  instead  of  large,  bulky  ones.  Heavy 
trunks  and  freight  must  be  shipped  up  the  river,  to  be  landed  at 
a  point  where  they  are  carried  by  carts  to  Bogota.  Honda  is 
approximately  600  miles  up  the  Magdalena  River,  and  Bogota  is 
practically  a  700-mile  journey,  requiring  about  two  weeks'  travel, 
from  the  seacoast.  Women  make  the  journey  almost  as  frequently 
and  easily  as  men,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  American  women 


LATIN     AMERICA  801 

wishing  to  go  to  that  part  of  the  world  should  not  undertake  the 
trip  as  well  as  men. 

Bogota,  the  capital  of  Colombia,  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
cities  in  all  Latin  America.  With  a  population  of  125,000  and 
beautifully  located  on  the  edge  of  the  plateau,  in  an  excellent 
climate,  it  always  proves  an  attractive  place  of  residence.  The 
social  conditions  are  particularly  pleasing.  Nearly  all  the  high- 
class  people  with  whom  one  comes  in  contact  live  in  beautiful 
homes,  are  well  educated,  have  traveled  abroad,  and  speak  French 
as  fluently  as  they  do  Spanish.  There  is  a  vigorous  literary,  artistic, 
and  musical  element,  which  exercises  a  favorable  influence  on  the 
refined  progress  of  the  nation.  There  are  excellent  colleges  and 
general  schools.  The  clubs  are  centers  where  the  cleverer  men  of 
the  capital  gather.  There  is  opportunity  for  the  enjoyment  of 
sports,  especially  in  such  forms  as  tennis,  polo,  and  riding  horse- 
back. Dinners  and  balls  are  given  with  an  elegance  that  would 
be  a  credit  to  Washington  or  New  York,  while  the  women  dress 
with  as  much  taste  and  respect  for  the  latest  fashions  as  the  women 
of  our  home  capital.  It  is  not  possible  for  me  to  speak  in  too  strong 
terms  of  the  charming  hospitality  and  kindness  of  association  which 
I  experienced  during  my  stay  in  Bogota  as  United  States  Minister. 

Considering  now  some  tangible  facts  about  the  resources  and 
possibilities  of  the  country,  it  is  well  to  note  the  principal  products 
of  Colombian  soil.  In  the  so-called  "  hot  country  "  we  find  coffee, 
cocoa,  sugar,  tobacco,  indigo,  cacao,  bananas,  vanilla,  corn,  rice, 
beans,  yucca,  oranges,  lemons,  pineapples,  alligator  pears,  and  other 
tropical  fruits  growing  in  splendid  abundance.  Then  in  the  forests 
are  cedar  and  mahogany,  dyewoods,  vegetable  ivory,  Peruvian 
bark,  rubber  trees,  sarsaparilla,  cocoa,  ipecacuanha,  gums,  resins, 
and  rare  orchids.  Cotton  will  grow  readily  in  the  open,  but  so 
far  it  is  little  cultivated,  while  on  the  warm  uplands  are  cinchona, 
wax  palms,  balsam  of  tolu,  vine  of  the  cross,  and  the  arisa  in  the 
forest,  and  corn,  barley,  wheat,  potatoes,  etc.,  in  the  plantations. 

To  describe  further  the  products  of  the  cooler  plateaus  of 
Colombia  would  simply  be  to  name  those  of  northern  United  States 
and  Europe,  but  the  oddity  and  advantage  of  it  all  to  Colombia  is 
that  the  hot  and  cold  zones  are  in  such  remarkable  and  accessible 
proximity.  We  do  not  think  of  Colombia  as  a  cattle  country,  but 
I  have  seen  as  fine  beef  on  the  hoof  in  both  the  hot  and  cold  sections 
of  the  Republic  as  can  be  raised  on  our  western  plains.     The  day 


302  SOUTH     AMERICA 

is  not  remote  when  Colombia  will  be  supplying  the  New  York 
market  with  meat,  and  it  should  supply  the  present  and  future 
demands  of  the  Panama  Canal  Zone  not  only  with  beef,  but  with 
nil  other  kinds  of  fresh  natural  products. 

Now  let  us  note  the  ever- fascinating  subject  of  minerals  and 
mines.  Colombia  would  be  a  rich  country  if  dependent  only  on 
its  agricultural  and  forest  wealth,  but  it  has  a  vast  supply  of  minerals 
and  precious  stones  that  alone  would  make  it  a  land  of  immense 
riches.  If  coal  ever  gives  out  in  the  United  States,  there  is  enough 
in  Colombia  to  supply  the  world  for  centuries.  It  is  found  in  many 
different  parts  of  the  Republic,  including  Cali,  in  the  Cauca,  on  the 
Pacific,  and  also  near  the  Atlantic  coast,  while  there  is  so  much 
soft,  or  bituminous,  coal  in  the  mountains  around  Bogota  that  the 
numerous  mines  running  into  their  sides  here  and  there  remind  one 
of  giant  gopher  holes. 

There  are  also  indications  of  anthracite  deposits  which  may 
rival  those  of  Pennsylvania.  So  far,  these  have  not  been  developed, 
because  the  natives  do  not  understand  or  like  hard  coal. 

Gold  is  mined  in  the  states  of  Antioquia,  Caldas,  Tolima,  and 
Santander  in  richly  paying  quantities,  and  experts  declare  that  some 
day  there  will  be  a  "  boom "  here  like  those  of  the  Klondike, 
California,  and  South  Africa.  Silver  is  found  in  Antioquia,  Cauca, 
and  Tolima :  copper  in  Boyaca ;  platinum  in  Cauca ;  petroleum  in 
Tolima ;  while  lime,  alum,  chalk,  magnesia,  sulphur,  marble,  asphalt, 
cinnabar,  lead,  and  quicksilver  ore  are  found  in  large  deposits  in 
many  parts  of  the  country. 

At  Pradera,  not  far  from  Bogota,  iron  and  coal  are  side  by  side 
in  such  vast  amounts  that  costly  iron  works  have  been  erected,  and 
it  is  now  proposed  to  undertake  the  manufacture  of  steel  by  the 
Bessemer  process. 

Special  mention  should  be  made  of  the  famous  Musa  Mine, 
which  provides  the  best  and  largest  number  of  emeralds  of  any  mine 
or  mines  in  the  world.  It  is  one  of  the  principal  sources  of  income  of 
the  Republic,  and  as  it  is  further  developed  it  will  be  all  the  more 
valuable.  I'ractically  the  only  sure  source  of  supply  for  the  emerald 
demands  of  the  world  is  the  Musa  Mine.  It  is  to-day  one  of  the 
guarantees  which  the  Colombian  government  uses  for  its  credit 
abroad. 

To-day  Colombia  is  selling  to  the  United  States  such  exports  as 
coffee,    hides,    alligator    skins,    goat    skins,    gold    bars    and    dust, 


LATINAMERICA  303 

rubber,  tobacco,  and  balsam  of  tolu,  heron  plumes  and  other 
feathers,  straw  hats,  bananas,  cocoanuts,  chocolate,  ivory  nuts, 
quina,  platinum,  dyewoods,  cedar,  mahogany,  orchids,  etc.  The 
value  of  these  exports  to  the  United  States  in  1905  approximated 
$6,300,000  in  gold.  This  amount  will  be  tripled  when  Colombia  is 
started  on  an  era  of  permanent  peace  and  the  national  productive- 
ness is  accordingly  increased. 

Colombian  imports  from  the  United  States  include  flour,  kero- 
sene oil,  agricultural  implements,  mining  and  sugar  refining 
machinery,  railroad  and  steamboat  equipment,  novelties  of  all  kinds, 
shoes,  matches,  arms,  sporting  goods,  hardware,  dyes  and  chemicals, 
toilet  articles,  some  lines  of  cotton  cloth  and  clothing,  paper  and 
printing  supplies,  etc. ;  but,  excepting  the  first  of  these  items,  the 
greatest  quantities  are  supplied  by  Europe.  Imports  from  the  United 
States  in  1905  amounted  in  value  to  only  $3,700,000,  although  the 
grand  total  of  foreign  imports  amounted  approximately  from 
$12,000,000  to  $15,000,000. 

The  true  American  who  loves  sportsmanship  and  hunting  for 
the  exercise  and  rest,  or  the  professional  explorer  and  hunter  who 
seeks  new  fields  and  prey,  will  find  in  Colombia  unrivaled  opportuni- 
ties for  pleasure  or  adventure.  In  the  tropical  and  semi-tropical  for- 
ests roam  the  jaguar,  puma,  bear,  amarillo,  tapir,  peccary,  sloth, 
deer,  opossum,  and  cary.  In  the  trees  can  be  seen  monkeys  and  a 
multitude  of  bird  species,  like  condors,  parrots,  cockatoos,  toucans, 
bush  turkeys,  or  grouse,  and  humming  birds.  In  the  rivers  are 
legions  of  alligators  and  iguanas,  while  along  the  coast  there  are 
numerous  turtles.  Cranes  and  storks  fly  over  the  damp  lowlands 
and  boa  constrictors  crawl  through  the  rank  vegetation.  In  the 
higher  and  colder  country  are  deer,  foxes,  mountain  lions,  and 
tigers,  and  along  the  lagoons  and  among  the  fields  duck,  snipe,  and 
pigeons. 

The  geologist,  mineralogist,  botanist,  forester,  and  average 
scientist,  moreover,  can  always  find  abundant  lines  of  study  and 
investigation  respectively  in  the  geological  formation,  mineral  de- 
posits, flora  and  tree  growth,  and  general  physical  characteristics 
of  Colombia.  In  this  connection  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
great  Humboldt  found  this  part  of  South  America  the  most  inter- 
esting df  his  travels.  The  National  Museum  in  Bogota  contains 
rare  specimens  of  fauna,  flora,  mineral  and  geological  development 
which  interest  both  the  layman  and  the  specialist. 


304  SOUTH     AMERICA 

Before  this  discussion  is  at  a  close  there  are  a  few  different 
points  to  which  reference  should  be  made.  First,  I  desire  to  speak 
feelingb'  and  in  the  highest  terms  of  the  President  of  Colombia, 
General  Rafael  Reyes.  He  undoubtedly  stands  out  to-day  as  one  of 
the  foremost  statesmen  in  all  Latin  America.  Against  heavy  odds 
he  is  struggling  bravely  and  manfully  to  evolve  Colombia  into  a 
condition  of  permanent  peace  and  prosperity.  The  terrible  heritage 
that  Colombia  received  from  its  last  civil  war,  by  which  her  land 
was  reduced  to  a  condition  almost  of  poverty,  and  more  than  one 
hundred  thousand  able-bodied  heads  of  families  were  lost  in  battle, 
is  a  heavy  handicap;  but,  if  he  keeps  his  health  and  is  backed  up 
by  his  people,  he  will  be  sure  to  place  Colombia  in  the  front  rank 
of  Latin  America.  Many  criticisms  are  continually  hurled  at  him 
by  those  who  are  not  familiar  with  his  high  policies  and  with  the 
obstacles  that  are  in  his  path,  but  all  those  who  have  the  best 
interests  of  Colombia  at  heart  repose  confidence  in  General  Reyes' 
sincerity,  ability,  and  patriotism. 

Another  point  to  bear  in  mind  in  connection  with  Colombia  is 
the  establishment  of  the  Pan-American  Railway  connections.  The 
great  need  of  Colombia  is  railroads.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that 
many  railroads  are  now  in  course  of  construction,  and  when  these 
are  completed  they  will  do  much  for  the  progress  of  the  country. 
One  of  the  most  important  lines  of  approach  from  the  coast  to  the 
interior  is  that  from  Buenaventura,  on  the  Pacific  coast,  by  the 
way  of  Cali  and  the  Cauca  Valley,  and  then  on  to  the  Medellin, 
the  prosperous  capital  of  Antioquia,  which  is  being  built  by  two 
Americans,  Messrs.  Alfred  Bishop  and  Edward  Mason, 

Finally,  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  wish  to  study  carefully  the 
Republic  of  Colombia  and  form  a  broader  idea  of  the  country'  than 
this  cursory  talk  has  given  them,  I  desire  to  call  their  attention  to 
the  reports  and  pamphlets  of  the  International  Bureau  of  American 
Republics  of  Washington,  which  is  always  doing  its  best  to  bring 
about  closer  acquaintance  and  relations  between  the  United  States 
and  the  Latin-American  nations.  It  is  also  a  pleasure  to  commend 
the  excellent  reports  of  the  United  States  Consul  General  at 
Bogota,  and  the  consuls  at  Barranquilla,  Cartagena,  and  Cali,  which 
are  published  in  the  "  Commercial  Relations  of  the  United  States  " 
and  the  "  Daily  Consular  and  Trade  Reports  "  issued  by  the  Bureau 
of  Manufactures,  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor. 


A    NEW    PERUVIAN    ROUTE    TO    THE    PLAIN 
OF   THE   AMAZON^ 

By  Solon  I.  Bailey 
Associate  Professor  of  Astronomy,   Harvard  College  Observatory 

The  author  of  this  article  was  sent  to  the  west  coast  of  South  America  in 
1889  to  determine  the  best  site  for  the  Southern  station  of  the  Harvard  College 
Observatory.  He  examined  the  west  coast  from  the  Equator  to  the  southern 
coast  of  South  America,  and  upon  his  report  Arequipa,  Peru,  was  selected. 
Professor  Bailey  had  charge  of  the  work  there  for  eight  years,  and  also 
established  a  meteorological  station  on  the  summit  of  El  Misti,  at  an  elevation 
of  19,000  feet,  where  observations  have  since  been  carried  on.  It  is  by  far  the 
highest  scientific  station  in  the  world. 

A  COMMERCIAL  conquest  of  the  heart  of  the  South 
American  continent  is  going  rapidly  forward.  While  the 
coast  regions  have  been  settled  and  civilized  for  centuries, 
colonization  has  hardly  touched  the  great  plains  of  the  upper 
Amazon  and  the  lower  valleys  of  the  eastern  Andes.  Only  yester- 
day, indeed,  this  vast  region  was  almost  unknown;  to-day  little 
remains  which  has  not  been  at  least  partially  explored.  Nor  is 
it  now  any  thought  of  the  millions  who  in  the  future  may  here 
make  their  homes  which  is  working  for  the  development  of  the 
country,  but  simply  the  desire  to  be  first  in  the  exploitation  of  its 
natural  wealth,  especially  rubber. 

Commerce  naturally  follows  the  lines  of  great  rivers,  and  no- 
where else  are  there  such  vast  water  systems  as  in  South  America ; 
nor  does  it  seem  improbable  that  the  same  law  will  hold  true  here, 
especially  after  the  possibilities  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Amazon 
have  been  properly  developed,  and  that  the  commerce  of  south- 
eastern Peru  and  Bolivia  will  find  its  way  to  the  Atlantic,  thousands 
of  miles  distant,  rather  than  to  the  Pacific,  only  a  few  hundred  miles 
away.  This  has  been  true  in  the  past,  and  is  strikingly  illustrated 
by  Iquitos,  in  northeastern  Peru,  which  is  practically  an  Atlantic 
seaport,  although  in  Peruvian  territory  and  2000  miles  from  one 
mouth  of  the  Amazon.  From  southeastern  Peru  and  Bolivia,  how- 
ever, in  the  regions  of  the  Madre  de  Dios  and  the  Beni,  communi- 

^  Contributed  through   the  courtesy  of  The  National  Geographic  Society. 

305 


306  SOUTH    AMERICA 

cation  with  the  Atlantic  is  more  difficult.  This  is  due  especially  to 
the  falls  of  the  Madeira,  near  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers  named 
above.  These  rapids  block  navigation  at  a  distance  of  2000  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Madeira.  Above  the  falls  steamships  may 
again  be  used:  but  the  danger  and  loss  in  passing  the  rapids  are 
so  great  that,  until  this  difficulty  is  overcome,  another  route  is  very 
desirable.  The  Pacific  is  comparatively  near,  but  a  journey  must 
be  made  through  dense  forests  and  wild  gorges  to  the  crest  of  the 
eastern  Andes  and  down  to  the  Titicaca  Plateau,  where  railway 
transportation  to  the  Pacific  is  ready.  Until  recently  no  direct 
route  had  been  opened  up. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  several  ways  of  reaching  the 
Madre  de  Dios  and  its  tributaries,  but  the  most  direct  and  comfort- 
able route  is  that  which  I  traversed  in  1903  before  its  completion. 
Since  that  time  many  improvements  in  the  road  have  been  made. 

From  New  York  one  may  reach  the  Peruvian  port  of  Mollendo 
in  about  three  weeks.  At  the  present  time  it  is  necessary  to  cross 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama  by  rail,  but  wdien  the  canal  is  completed 
through  steamships  from  Atlantic  cities  will  doubtless  call  at  all 
important  South  American  Pacific  ports.  From  Mollendo  a  railway 
journey  of  seven  or  eight  hours  takes  one  across  the  desert  to 
Arequipa,  the  chief  city  of  southern  Peru.  Arequipa  lies  on  the 
western  slope  of  the  Andes,  at  an  elevation  of  7500  feet.  This 
elevation  within  the  tropics  furnishes  an  almost  ideal  climate.  The 
whole  region  west  of  the  Andes  in  Peru  is,  however,  desert  and 
capable  of  cultivation  only  by  irrigation.  Arequipa  owes  its  exist- 
ence to  the  small  River  Chili,  whose  waters  are  exhausted  in 
irrigating  the  valley  which  surrounds  the  city. 

A  railway  leads  from  Arequipa  to  the  Titicaca  Plateau,  which 
lies  between  the  eastern  and  western  Andes.  On  the  lofty  and 
desolate  Puna  it  reaches  an  altitude  of  14,660  feet  beiore  it  descends 
to  the  plateau.  Lake  Titicaca  has  an  elevation  of  about  12,500  feet. 
This  great  region  between  the  different  ranges  of  the  Andes  was  the 
home  of  the  various  Indian  races  that  under  the  domination  of  the 
incas  made  up  the  semi-civilized  population  at  the  time  of  the 
Spanisli  conquest.  Their  descendants,  for  the  most  part  full-blooded 
Indians,  still  dwell  on  the  same  plateaus  and  lofty  valleys,  but  in  a 
low  social  condition.  They  have  lost  rather  than  gained  by  the 
coming  of  a  higher  civilization. 

At  Tiripata,  on  this  plateau,  it  is  necessary  to  leave  the  railway 


THE     PLAIN     OF     THE     AMAZON  307 

and  cross  the  eastern  Cordillera.  Through  American  enterprise, 
in  connection  with  an  enlightened  policy  on  the  part  of  the  Peruvian 
government,  a  wagon  road  has  been  constructed  for  a  portion  of 
the  route  across  the  plateau,  and  will  be  carried  over  the  mountains 
to  a  small  Indian  town  on  the  eastern  slope.  From  this  town 
a  good  trail  for  miles  will  be  built,  down  to  some  navigable  river 
on  which  small  steamers  can  be  used.  With  the  railway  most  of 
the  comforts  of  civilization  are  left  behind.  In  four  or  five  days 
of  mule-back  travel  we  mount  the  eastern  Andes,  winding  our 
way  through  the  Aricoma  Pass  at  an  altitude  of  about  16,500 
feet.  Here  the  scenery,  if  the  weather  is  fine,  repays  the  hardships 
of  the  trip.  Snowy  mountains  and  enormous  glaciers  are  mirrored 
in  the  waters  of  lakes,  which  change  their  colors  with  every  whim 
of  cloud  and  sky.  More  often,  however,  the  traveler  is  wrapped  in 
blinding  snowstorms,  which  shut  out  every  glimpse  beyond  the 
narrow  limits  of  a  few  feet.  Hour  after  hour  he  clings  half- 
frozen  to  his  mule,  his  discomfort  heightened  by  the  mountain 
sickness,  which  is  one  of  the  terrors  of  these  lofty  regions.  To 
lose  his  way  under  these  conditions  may  mean  death. 

On  reaching  the  eastern  crest  of  these  mountains,  if  the  view- 
is  clear,  one  seems  to  be  standing  on  the  edge  of  the  world.  The 
eye,  indeed,  can  reach  but  little  of  the  vast  panorama,  but  just  at 
one's  feet  the  earth  drops  away  into  apparently  endless  and  almost 
bottomless  valleys.  We  may  call  them  valleys,  but  this  does  not 
express  the  idea;  they  are  gorges,  deep  ravines  in  whose  gloomy 
depths  rage  the  torrents  which  fall  from  the  snowy  summits  of  the 
Andes  down  toward  the  plain.  We  might  hunt  the  world  over 
for  a  better  example  of  the  power  of  running  water.  The  whole 
country  is  on  edge.  Here  all  the  moisture  from  the  wet  air,  borne 
by  the  trade  winds  across  Brazil  from  the  distant  Atlantic,  is 
wrung  by  th©  mountain  barrier,  and  falls  in  almost  continual 
rain. 

Near  the  summit  of  the  pass  only  the  lowest  and  scantiest 
forms  of  vegetable  life  are  seen.  In  a  single  day,  however,  even 
by  the  slow  march  of  weary  mules,  in  many  places  literally  step- 
ping "  downstairs  "  from  stone  to  stone,  we  drop  7000  feet.  Here 
the  forest  begins,  first  in  stunted  growths,  and  then,  a  little  lower 
down,  in  all  the  wild  luxuriance  of  the  tropics,  where  moisture 
never  fails.  The  lower  eastern  foothills  of  the  Andes  are  more 
heavily   watered,   and   more   densely   overgrown,   than  the  great 


308  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

plain  farther  down.  Here  is  a  land  drenched  in  rain,  and  reeking 
with  mists,  where  the  bright  sun  is  a  surprise  and  a  joy  in  spite 
of  his  iieat.  In  these  dense  forests,  with  their  twisting  vines  and 
hanging  lianas,  a  man  without  a  path  can  force  his  way  with 
difficulty  a  mile  a  day. 

In  these  foothills,  at  an  elevation  of  4000  or  5000  feet,  is  the 
Santo  Domingo  mine.  Here  is  an  American  colony  provided 
with  comfortable,  almost  luxurious,  dwellings,  which  are  flanked 
by  the  unsightly  huts  of  native  miners  and  Indians. 

From  this  abode  of  comparative  luxury  we  again  started  mule- 
back  along  a  new,  but  splendid,  trail  down  into  the  "  rubber  coun- 
try." Four  days  of  this  travel,  through  forests  peopled  with  noth- 
ing more  frightful  than  jaguars  and  monkeys,  brought  us  to  the 
end  of  the  trail.  Day  after  day,  ten  hours  a  day,  in  the  saddle 
is  sufficiently  tiresome,  but  it  was  with  regret  that  w^e  left  our 
animals  to  try  the  forest  afoot.  Our  first  experience  involved  only 
a  walk  of  a  couple  of  hours,  but  over  a  trail  so  narrow,  steep,  and 
blocked  with  trees  and  roots  that  we  were  soon  exhausted.  We 
were  glad  enough  to  arrive  at  a  clearing  on  the  bank  of  a  recently 
discovered  stream  called  the  New  River.  After  a  delay  of  a  day 
or  two  at  this  post,  we  made  our  way  dawnstream  a  few  miles 
to  the  junction  of  the  New  River  with  the  Tavora,  on  whose 
waters  we  intended  to  embark.  Six  hours  of  walking  over  a  path 
known  in  the  picturesque  language  of  my  companions  as  "  A  hell 
of  a  trail,"  brought  us  to  the  junction,  where  we  found  another 
camp  with  a  group  of  workmen  of  various  nationalities. 

The  party  which  I  joined  for  the  trip  down  the  rivers  was 
under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Chester  Brown,  the  general  manager 
of  the  Inca  Rubber  Company.  To  him  and  to  his  genial  brother, 
"  Fred,"  I  am  indebted  for  some  of  the  most  interesting  experiences 
which  the  present  day  furnishes.  The  route  we  took  to  the  Madre 
de  Dios  had  been  traversed  but  once  previously  by  a  white  man, 
and  then  only  a  few  weeks  before  by  an  engineer  in  the  employ  of 
the  company.  At  the  place  where  we  embarked  on  the  River 
Tavora  we  were  still  well  up  among  the  foothills  of  the  Andes, 
and  navigation,  even  in  canoes  and  rafts,  was  attended  by  many 
difficulties,  and  some  dangers,  owing  to  the  numerous  rapids. 

The  canoes  are  dugouts  shaped  from  a  single  log.  They  are 
from  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  long,  two  or  three  feet  broad,  and 
readily  carry  half  a  dozen  men  and  several  hundred  pounds  of 


THE     PLAIN     OF     THE     AMAZON  309 

freight.  For  the  passage  upstream  only  canoes  are  used,  and 
they  are  propelled  by  paddles  or  by  poles,  according  to  the  depth 
and  swiftness  of  the  water.  For  the  journey  down  the  river,  how- 
ever, rafts  are  also  used,  since  the  rapid  current  renders  great 
exertion  unnecessary.  Many  of  the  native  woods  are  too  heavy 
for  rafts ;  indeed,  a  number  of  varieties  sink  at  once,  so  great  is 
their  specific  gravity.  The  variety  used  for  rafts  is  nearly  as 
light  as  cork.  A  number  of  logs  of  this  raft-wood  are  fastened 
together  by  driving  through  them  long  wood  pins,  made  of  a  kind 
of  palm  which  is  so  hard  that  it  takes  the  place  of  iron.  Cross- 
pieces  are  then  fastened  on  in  the  same  way,  and  the  front  end  is 
made  pointed,  so  that  the  craft  shall  not  be  stopped  by  collision 
with  driftw^ood  or  boulders.  When  finished  the  raft  consists  en- 
tirely of  w^ood,  and  no  tool  has  been  used  in  its  construction  ex- 
cept an  ax. 

With  two  rafts  and  two  canoes,  our  party  set  out  one  day 
about  noon.  The  trip  began  with  the  running  of  a  swift  rapid, 
which  was  one  of  many  to  follow.  The  canoes  generally  led  the 
way  and  pointed  out  the  best  route.  In  many  cases  there  were 
sharp  curves,  wath  here  and  there  the  stranded  trunks  of  great 
trees  and  huge  boulders.  Many  of  our  experiences  were  sufficiently 
exciting,  and  a  fall  into  the  river  was  a  common  incident  of  the 
trip.  Our  company  included  a  crew  of  ten  men — a  motley  crowd 
of  various  colors  and  nationalities.  A  nearly  continuous  stream 
of  profanity  attended  the  various  maneuvers  of  our  fleet,  which 
reached  its  climax  in  intensity  and  picturesqueness  when  some 
sudden  jar  projected  one  or  more  of  the  boatmen  into  the  water. 
At  such  times  familiarity  with  the  language  of  the  boatmen  would 
have  been  a  misfortune.  In  the  swnfter  and  shallower  rapids  of 
the  upper  streams  it  was  often  necessary  to  lighten  the  load  by 
wading  in  the  water  beside  the  canoes,  which  were  guided  by 
hand  or  even  by  a  rope  carried  along  the  bank.  This  sort  of 
travel,  together  with  frequent  rains,  caused  all  the  party  to  be 
soaked  with  water  from  morning  to  night,  and  we  were  fortunate 
w^hen  the  kits  were  kept  dry,  so  that  the  night  could  be  passed  in 
comfort.  At  one  time  during  the  expedition  rain  fell  in  prodigious 
quantities,  causing  the  river  to  rise  nearly  ten  feet  within  twenty- 
four  hours.  Progress  became  difficult  and  extremely  dangerous, 
owing  to  the  swiftness  of  the  current  and  the  trunks  of  trees 
carried  along  on  its  surface.    We  were  obliged  to  make  camp  and 


310  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

wait.  This  we  did  at  a  place  which  seemed  sufficiently  elevated 
above  the  surface  of  the  river.  The  following  night,  however, 
the  water  reached  our  camping  ground  and  compelled  us  to  change 
quarters  in  the  darkness.  Pitching  a  new  camp  at  midnight,  in 
a  tropical  jungle,  in  a  pouring  rain,  is  a  far  from  cheerful 
occupation. 

The  Tavora,  a  river  found  on  no  map  yet  published,  is  one 
of  the  branches  of  the  Tambopata,  a  stately  stream  but  little  known. 
The  Tambopata  is  a  tributary  of  the  Aladre  de  Dios,  which  joins 
its  waters  with  those  of  the  Beni  and  other  rivers  to  form  the 
Madeira.  The  ]\Iadeira  is  one  of  the  great  rivers  of  the  world, 
and  yet  it  is  only  one  of  the  sources  of  the  mighty  Amazon, 

Until  our  embarkation  we  had  been  continually  in  deep, 
densely  wooded  valleys,  our  view  always  shut  in  by  their  lofty 
sides.  On  the  second  day  down  the  Tavora,  however,  as  we  swept 
out  into  the  broader  waters  of  the  Tambopata,  the  hills  fell  away 
suddenly,  leaving  before  us  only  the  level  Amazonian  plain — one 
vast  forest,  extending  unbroken,  save  for  the  river  courses,  for 
hundreds,  even  thousands,  of  miles.  At  rare  intervals  the  banks 
rise  in  bluffs  fifty  or  a  hundred  feet  above  the  general  level,  but 
usually  it  is  an  unbroken,  forest-covered  plain,  rising  only  a  few 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  river,  and  in  time  of  flood  covered  for 
great  distances  by  the  swollen  waters.  It  is  a  forest,  so  far  as  I 
saw,  without  a  single  natural  opening  or  glade,  except  along  the 
banks  of  the  rivers.  For  days  we  had  longed  to  see  the  hills  melt 
away  and  the  plain  appear;  a  month  later,  while  working  our  slow 
way  up  the  river,  we  watched  with  even  greater  eagerness  to 
catch  again  a  glimpse  of  the  blue  hills  outlined  against  the  sky. 

In  the  shade  of  this  ever-present  forest  live  various  groups  of 
savages,  known  as  Chunchos.  They  dwell  in  general  along  the 
banks  of  the  rivers,  and  indeed  they  seem  almost  as  much  at 
home  on,  or  even  in,  the  river  as  on  the  land.  The  reputation 
which  they  enjoy  is  none  of  the  best.  We  met  half  a  dozen  groups 
during  our  expedition,  some  of  whom  apparently  had  never  before 
seen  white  men.  They  impressed  me  as  simple  and  well-disposed, 
if  treated  fairly,  and  surprisingly  intelligent.  Indeed,  several  times, 
while  attempting  to  converse  with  them  by  means  of  signs,  I  could 
not  resist  the  impression  that  they  were  merely  masquerading  under 
the  guise  of  savagery.  From  almost  every  standpoint,  however, 
they  are  mere  savages.     They  are  nomadic,  roaming  iip  and  down 


THE     PLAIN     OF     THE     AMAZON  311 

the  rivers,  and  building  only  the  rudest  huts.  They  have  no  metal 
implements,  so  far  as  I  could  learn,  and  few,  if  any,  made  of  stone. 
Some  of  them  appear  to  have  no  proper  household  utensils,  and 
such  scant  pottery  as  I  saw  was  very  rude.  Their  clothing  is 
made  of  the  fibrous  bark  of  a  certain  treei,  called  by  them 
"  lanchama."  This  is  stripped  off  in  large  pieces  and  pounded 
on  flat  stones  with  great  patience  until  the  coarser  materials  are 
removed,  and  only  the  inner,  tough,  but  rather  soft  and  pliable, 
bark  is  left.  This  resembles  in  texture  a  coarse  cloth.  Two  pieces 
of  this  material  are  sewed  together  to  form  a  sleeveless  shirt  which 
reaches  from  the  shoulders  to  the  knees.  Shawls  and  loin-cloths 
are  also  made  from  the  same  bark.  These  garments  are  not  always 
w'orn,  however,  for  when  we  approached  a  village  unannounced 
both  men  and  women  completely  nude  were  sometimes  seen.  The 
Garden  of  Eden  still  lingers  here.  These  Amazonian  Eves  have 
evidently  never  heard  of  The  Fall.  Like  other  people,  however, 
they  take  pride  in  dress.  Jewelry  also  is  worn,  made  of  the  teeth 
of  monkeys,  or  of  pretty  shells.  Nose  ornaments  are  w^orn,  which 
no  doubt  add  some  charm  for  Chuncho  eyes,  but  which  are  de- 
cidedly inconvenient  when  eating. 

Insects  are  a  great  pest,  even  to  these  hardy  children  of  the 
forest,  who  slip  into  the  water  frequently  to  be  free  from  their 
stings,  and  to  cool  themselves.  Men  and  women,  boys  and  girls, 
threw  themselves  into  the  water,  unmindful  of  our  presence,  and 
swam  about  in  unencumbered  grace. 

Food  is  abundant  with  them — plantains  and  yuccas,  as  well 
as  game  and  fish.  The  weapons  of  war  and  those  of  the  chase 
are  much  alike,  consisting  of  bows,  spears,  and  arrows,  all  made 
of  an  extremely  hard  variety  of  palm.  With  these  they  wage 
war  on  unfriendly  neighboring  tribes,  and  also  hunt  the  tapir,  deer, 
monkeys,  wild  turkeys,  and  fish.  They  roast  the  flesh  of  animals 
and  fish,  either  by  placing  it  directly  in  the  fire,  or  first  inclosing  it 
in  hollow  pieces  of  cane  or  bamboo.  The  heads  of  monkeys  and 
of  the  larger  kinds  of  fish  seem  to  be  regarded  as  dainties,  and 
are  simply  placed  in  the  fire  and  roasted  or  burned  to  the  proper 
point.  Monkey  meat,  when  properly  cooked,  is  palatable  enough, 
but  the  appearance  and  manner  of  a  large  monkey  is  so  human 
that  when  roasted  and  served  whole  it  gives  a  cannibal  air  to  the 
meat  somewhat  disagreeable  to  me.  No  such  thought,  however, 
comes  to  the  Chuncho. 


S12  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

They  have  a  curious  combination  of  rather  bright  and  "  tak- 
ing "  ways,  and  of  low  and  filthy  habits.  Their  continual  bathing 
renders  them  free  from  personal  unpleasantness,  though  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  they  enter  the  water  with  any  idea  of  cleanliness.  Their 
sense  of  humor  is  as  quick  as  that  of  an  Irishman.  With  no  idea 
of  our  language,  they  seemed  to  catch  a  joke  at  once  and  were  fre- 
quently laughing.  This  is  in  great  contrast  with  the  Indians  of 
the  Peruvian  Plateau,  who  are  slow  in  thought  and  movement,  and 
seldom  laugh,  at  least  in  the  presence  of  strangers.  Many  of  the 
Chunchos  whom  we  met  apparently  saw  white  men  for  the  first 
time.  Certainly  no  one  of  them  had  ever  seen  a  bald  man.  One 
of  our  party  was  decidedly  bald,  and  when  he  removed  his  hat  a 
look  of  surprise  and  amusement  passed  over  the  faces  of  the 
whole  group,  accompanied  by  sly,  if  expressive,  remarks.  Freedom 
from  the  use  of  hats  may  account  for  the  absence  of  baldness  among 
them.  It  is  an  interesting  fact,  how^ever,  that  among  the  different 
groups  which  we  met  no  person,  man  or  woman,  appeared  to  me 
over  forty  years  of  age.  What  became  of  the  aged  I  could  not 
learn. 

I  have  never  seen  a  more  interesting  affair  than  a  luncheon 
which  a  party  of  Chunchos  took  with  us  on  our  way  down  the 
Tambopata.  Our  limited  stores  of  provisions  contained  marvelous 
novelties  for  them.  Sugar  was  quite  unknown  to  them.  Each 
took  some  in  the  palm  of  his  hand  and  tasted  it  slowly  and  cau- 
tiously; then  a  smile  of  satisfaction  lighted  up  his  face,  and  the 
sugar  disappeared.  ]\Ien  and  women,  impelled  by  curiosity,  min- 
gled freely  and  frankly  among  us,  and  although  among  themselves 
the  women  are  probably  accustomed  to  eat  after  the  men,  with 
us  they  all  came  together  in  apparent  equality.  For  pickles  they 
expressed  great  disgust.  Tea  w-as  taken  with  indifference  or  con- 
tempt, but  cocoa  with  plenty  of  sugar  pleased  them  extremely.  A 
little  confectionery,  in  the  form  of  rather  solid  balls,  was  eaten 
with  emphatic  nods  of  appreciation,  with  the  exception  of  two  or 
three  pieces  which  one  of  them  saved.  He  explained,  by  digging 
a  hole  in  the  ground  and  pretending  to  cover  up  one  piece,  that 
these  were  to  be  kept  for  seed,  so  that  in  the  future  they  might 
have  plenty  of  so  delicious  a  fruit. 

Of  their  religious  life,  or  the  lack  of  it,  almost  nothing  could 
be  learned  from  the  bands  we  met  along  the  Tambopata.  At 
Maldonado,  however,  the  newly  established  military  post  of  Peru 
on  the  Madre  de  Dios,  were  two  or  three  Chunchos  from  another 


THE     PLAIN     OF     THE     AMAZON  318 

river,  who  had  become  residents  of  the  camp,  and  had  learned  some 
Spanish.  The  commandant  of  the  post  and  I  spent  some  time  try- 
ing to  find  out  whether  these  savages  have  any  idea  of  religion. 
The  commandant,  a  good  Catholic,  attempted  to  explain  to  them 
some  idea  of  God.  They  listened  apparently  in  vague  wonder, 
and  when  asked  if  their  people  had  no  such  belief  replied  in  the 
negative.  The  idea  of  a  future  life  after  death,  so  far  as  we  could 
learn,  was  not  familiar  to  them.  At  the  present  time  there  are 
several  thousands  of  these  savages  living  in  scattered  groups  of 
twenty  or  more  along  the  rivers  flowing  into  the  Madre  de  Dios. 
Many  of  them  are  just  coming  into  intimate  contact  with  the 
white  race.     A  condition  little  better  than  slavery  awaits  them. 

For  the  present  the  chief  interest  in  this  great,  undeveloped 
region  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  rich  in  rubber  and  a  few  other 
natural  products.  But  what  of  its  future?  Is  it  "a  white  man's 
country  "  ?  Parts  of  it  undoubtedly  offer  favorable  conditions  for 
white  laborers,  so  far  as  climate  is  concerned.  From  the  crest 
of  the  eastern  Andes  down  to  the  level  plains,  every  climate,  from 
the  frigid  to  the  torrid,  is  passed  in  succession.  This  zone,  how- 
ever, is  narrow  and  badly  cut  up  into  deep  valleys  with  precipitous 
sides.  Agriculture  has  its  difficulties.  It  is  stated  that  a  farmer 
arrived  one  day  at  the  Santo  Domingo  Mine  in  very  bad  condi- 
tion. Asked  what  had  happened  to  him,  he  replied  that  the  night 
before  his  farm  had  fallen  on  him.  Landslides  in  this  region  are 
certainly  frequent.  Probably  enough  water  power  is  going  to 
waste  on  these  slopes  to  do  the  work  of  the  world.  Within  a  short 
distance  large  streams  fall  in  a  continuous  mass  of  foam  10,000 
feet  or  more.  Nor  does  it  seem  to  me  probable  that  the  lower 
plains  will  be  found  especially  unsuited  to  the  white  race.  At 
present  in  these  endless  forests  insects  swarm  in  countless  millions, 
and  malaria  doubtless  is  prevalent;  but,  with  the  forests  cleared 
away  and  with  the  comforts  of  civilization,  the  conditions  would 
be  much  improved.  The  altitude  is  some  2000  feet  above  sea- 
level,  and  the  heat  by  no  means  extreme.  During  our  journey  on 
the  rivers  the  highest  temperature  recorded  was  ninety-six  degrees 
Fahrenheit,  and  a  temperature  above  ninety  degrees  was  extremely 
rare.  One  hesitates  even  in  imagination  to  picture  what  manifold 
industries  may  be  found  among  these  foothills  in  coming  cen- 
turies, and  what  millions  of  prosperous  dwellers  may  be  clustered 
on  the  plains  at  their  feet. 


THE     FALLS    OF    IGUAZU^ 
By  Marie  Robinson  Wright 

IN  the  heart  of  South  America,  at  the  meeting  place  of  three  re- 
publics, Brazil,  Argentina,  and  Paraguay,  Nature  has  chosen 
the  site  for  a  masterpiece  of  scenic  grandeur,  to  be  compared 
only  to  the  mighty  Niagara  in  majesty,  and  pronounced  by  some 
of  the  few  travelers  who  have  seen  it  to  be  even  greater  than  its 
North  American  counterpart. 

The  Falls  of  Iguazu  occur  at  the  junction  of  Iguazu  River 
with  the  Upper  Parana,  in  a  territory  famous  as  the  original  lo- 
cality of  the  Jesuit  missions,  established  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
the  ruins  of  which  may  still  be  seen  by  those  who  visit  the  falls. 
The  history  of  these  missions  alone  makes  them  sufficiently  inter- 
esting to  warrant  a  journey  thither,  and  the  fact  that  they  have 
survived  centuries  of  disaster  from  fire  and  storm  speaks  volumes 
for  the  enduring  character  of  the  work  done  by  the  simple  natives 
of  what  was  then  a  savage  country,  under  the  civilizing  influence 
of  the  celebrated  Company  of  Jesus. 

There  is  no  other  spot  in  South  America,  except  the  site  of 
the  ancient  empire  of  the  incas,  where  historic  interest  and  natural 
beauty  are  so  allied  in  attractiveness  as  in  the  land  of  "  Las 
^lisiones,"  where  it  overlooks  the  Iguazu  Falls  on  the  Upper 
Parana.  In  the  course  of  the  Upper  Parana  there  are  many  notable 
waterfalls,  among  them  the  Guayra  and  the  Nacunday,  of  con- 
siderable fame,  but  none  equal  the  magnificence  of  the  Iguazu. 
Until  recently  the  inaccessibility  of  this  region  prevented  its  being 
known  to  any  but  daring  travelers,  willing  to  bear  the  fatigue  and 
discomfort  of  many  days'  journeys  across  the  pampas  and  through 
the  forest,  under  the  blaze  of  a  tropical  sun  and  subject  to  the 
annoyance  of  innumerable  insects,  with  no  accommodations  along 
the  route,  nor  at  the  end  of  it,  except  such  as  the  traveler  himself 
could  provide.  But  now  that  the  Argentine  government  has  rec- 
ognized the  importance  of  opening  up  a  route  to  the  missions  and 

1  Contributed  through  the   courtesy  of  The  National  Geographic  Society. 

314 


FALLS     OF     IGUAZU  815 

the  falls,  regular  excursions  take  many  visitors  to  Iguazu  from 
Buenos  Ayres  and  other  Argentine  cities.  The  return  trip  re- 
quires about  two  weeks,  and  can  be  made  with  comparative  com- 
fort by  train  to  Posadas,  on  the  Upper  Parana,  and  thence  by  a 
small  steamer  in  a  few  hours  to  the  falls.  Occasional  excursions 
are  also  made  all  the  way  from  Buenos  Ayres  to  the  falls  by 
steamer.  The  approach  to  the  falls  is  heralded  by  the  thunder  of 
the  cataract,  which  may  be  heard  many  miles  away.  About  twelve 
miles  above  the  falls  the  River  Iguazu  makes  a  sharp  bend,  almost 
at  right  angles,  giving  them  greater  extent  and  more  varied  char- 
acter than  those  of  Niagara,  which  to  some  degree  they  resemble. 
Indeed,  a  comparison  between  the  two  affords  the  best  means  of 
judging  of  their  relative  claims  to  preeminence,  and  is,  perhaps, 
necessary  in  order  to  give  an  adequate  idea  of  the  appearance  of 
Iguazu. 

The  cataract  of  Niagara  makes  a  clear  leap  in  an  enormous 
sheet  of  water  twenty  feet  thick  over  a  precipice  varying  from 
150  to  180  feet  in  height.  Above  the  falls  is  a  broad  expanse  of 
river,  and  below  them  a  narrow  gorge  through  which  the  water  is 
forced  in  a  rapid  torrent.  The  setting  of  this  magnificent  chef 
d'ocuvre  of  Nature  is  a  cluster  of  busy  modern  towns,  with  only 
the  intervening  parks  to  put  them  in  harmony  with  the  glorious 
work  they  serve  to  frame. 

The  Falls  of  Iguazu  offer  a  notable  contrast  to  Niagara  in 
many  important  features.  As  the  river  makes  the  sharp  bend 
already  mentioned,  the  main  volume  of  water  rushes  round  the 
inner  bank  and  is  discharged  into  a  long,  narrow  gorge,  at  one 
point  making  a  clear  plunge  of  210  feet.  Not  all  the  volume  of  the 
river  is  received  at  this  place,  however,  the  rest  of  the  water 
running  out  past  it  into  the  wide  elbow  formed  by  the  bend,  and 
circling  along  the  further  shore  among  many  rocks  and  islands 
before  reaching  the  edge  of  the  cliff,  over  which  the  descent  is 
made  in  two  great  leaps  of  a  hundred  feet  each,  in  a  vast  semi- 
circle of  3000  feet.  The  total  length  of  Iguazu  Falls,  if  measured 
at  the  upper  edge  of  the  cliff,  through  their  broken  contour,  includ- 
ing intersecting  islets,  is  twice  as  great  as  that  of  Niagara,  in- 
cluding the  intersection  of  Goat  Island. 

The  double  fall  of  Iguazu  is  the  most  striking  feature  of  the 
cataract,  the  rocky  shelf  or  platform  that  divides  the  leap  being 
in  some  places  over  fifty  yards  wide  and  in  others  only  a  few  feet. 


316  SOUTH     AMERICA 

The  scenery  surrounding  Iguazu  Falls  is  in  peculiar  harmony 
with  the  solemn  grandeur  of  the  cataract  and  its  varied  character. 
The  roar  of  the  waterfall  is  more  impressive  for  the  solitude  of 
the  spot  and  the  eternal  silence  that  reigns  in  the  dense  forests  that 
mark  its  border,  into  which  the  white  man  has  scarcely  penetrated. 
For  several  miles  before  the  falls  are  reached  the  river  is  a  mass 
of  huge  frowning  boulders  and  w^hirlpools,  and  the  first  view  of 
the  great  cataract  is  often  a  disappointment,  from  the  fact  that 
it  must  be  seen  from  many  different  points  to  be  appreciated  in 
all  its  beauty. 

The  outline  of  Iguazu  Falls  is  so  broken  that  one  can  hardly 
gain  a  correct  idea  of  its  immense  width,  and  even  the  great  height 
of  the  cataract  loses  something  in  effectiveness  by  being  divided 
into  two  leaps,  instead  of  forming  one  stupendous  fall.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  charm  of  the  South  American  falls  as  they 
plunge  out  of  the  hidden  recesses  of  a  semitropical  forest  at  a 
hundred  different  points  is  unequaled  elsewhere,  and  the  traveler 
may  look  in  vain  the  world  over  for  a  rival  to  their  seductive 
beauty.  Here  Nature  revels  in  perfect  abandon,  and  presents  a 
spectacle  seldom  seen  in  these  days,  when  the  surging  tide  of 
travel  rolls  in  upon  her  most  secluded  retreats  with  its  "  modem 
improvements."  Iguazu  remains  so  free  from  the  meddling  of 
man  that  one  can  imagine  the  picture  to  be  much  the  same  to-day 
as  when  it  first  came  from  the  Creator's  hand  in  the  primeval 
days  "  when  the  morning  stars  sang  together." 

From  the  falls  to  the  ruins  of  the  Jesuit  missions  the  route 
is  along  forest  paths  overgrown  with  tropical  verdure.  In  the 
heart  of  a  thick  wood,  covering  m.ore  than  a  thousand  acres,  the 
ruins  of  San  Ignacio,  so  named  for  the  founder  of  the  order,  stand 
in  persistent  survival  of  all  the  agents  of  destruction  that  have 
attacked  it  during  the  past  two  centuries.  A  proof  of  the  remark- 
able fertility  of  this  region  in  which  the  Jesuits  established  their 
settlement  is  shown  in  the  marvelous  growth  of  the  forest  which 
now  marks  the  site,  most  of  the  trees  towering  to  a  height  of  more 
than  a  hundred  feet,  although  it  is  only  about  eighty  years  since 
the  Jesuit  capital  was  burned  down.  The  only  open  space  in  this 
wilderness  of  woods  is  in  the  center  of  what  was  formerly  the  set- 
tlement— a  public  plaza  around  which  the  houses  were  built — and 
strangely  enough  no  trees  have  grown  on  this  spot,  though  they 
have  pushed  their  way  through  crevices  in  the  walls  that  mark 


FALLS     OF     IGUAZU  317 

where  the  houses  stood,  and  have  buried  under  their  branches  the 
greater  part  of  the  ruins.  Occupying  all  one  side  of  the  plaza  was 
the  church,  and  the  ruins  of  this  edifice  present  many  interesting 
features.  The  coat  of  arms  of  the  Jesuit  order  is  still  in  evidence, 
as  well  as  some  of  the  sculptured  figures  of  the  portico.  The  dimen- 
sions of  this  building  were  about  250  feet  long  by  150  feet  broad. 
Behind  the  church  was  the  college,  with  eight  large  class  rooms, 
and  near  it  the  refectory  and  cellars. 

All  the  work  of  the  missions  was  performed  by  the  Indians, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Jesuit  fathers,  and  not  only  the  churches 
but  the  dwellings  of  the  Indians  themselves  were  so  well  built  by 
them  that  the  ruins  of  these  houses  are  as  well  preserved  as  those 
of  the  temples.  Each  house  was  17  feet  long  by  14  feet  wide,  and 
had  a  window  and  a  door  in  front,  and  a  door  at  the  back  leading 
to  the  garden.  In  each  house  was  a  niche,  presumably  for  the 
statue  of  some  saint. 

It  is  impossible  not  to  admire  the  genius  of  Loyola's  followers, 
who  were  able  to  teach  the  arts  of  civilization  to  the  savage  so 
successfully  that  after  more  than  three  hundred  years  the  record 
of  their  work  remains  to  attest  its  strength  and  beauty.  There 
still  exist  the  evidences  of  good  architecture,  and  creditable  sculp- 
ture ;  and  though,  as  is  well  known,  the  Jesuit  edifices  all  over  the 
country  are  remarkable  for  a  lack  of  technical  accuracy  in  their 
architectural  design,  yet  they  stand  a  great  monument  to  the  per- 
sistent energy  of  the  most  important  civilizing  agency  in  South 
America  for  two  centuries  after  the  discovery,  and  they  represent 
an  influence  that  extended  from  the  Amazon  to  Cape  Horn,  of 
which  proofs  are  to  be  found  among  the  remotest  tribes  of  the 
interior  of  the  continent,  who  still  preserve  in  the  traditions  of 
their  people  many  of  the  Christian  teachings  brought  to  them  by 
the  Jesuits. 


THREE  OLD   PORTS  ON  THE   SPANISH   MAIN  ^ 

By  G.  M.  L.  Brown 
Member  of  The  National  Geographic  Society 

FEW  expressions  in  English  literature  have  given  rise  to 
more  confusion  than  the  term  "  Spanish  Main."  Applied 
originally,  it  would  appear,  to  the  waters  of  the  Caribbean 
Sea  and  that  part  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  traversed  by  the  treasure 
ships  of  Spain,  it  gradually  included  the  adjacent  coasts  of  the 
continent,  until,  with  most  modern  writers,  it  has  come  to  mean 
this  alone,  and  "  sailing  the  Spanish  Main,"  forsooth,  wall  here- 
after be  an  anachronism  until  such  time  as  airships  shall  have 
become  popular  in  Caribbean  countries.  In  these  pages,  however, 
with  the  reader's  permission,  the  term  will  be  applied,  in  its  orig- 
inal sense,  to  the  sea  only — to  the  "  golden,  tropic  sea,"  which,  de- 
serted by  its  galleons,  bereft  of  its  romance  and  its  mystery, 
deserves,  surely,  to  retain  its  memories  and  its  ancient  glorious 
name. 

But  the  coast  has  its  historic  memories  as  well — this  far- 
famed  coast  of  Tierra  Firme  which  Columbus  declared  to  be  the 
site  of  tb.c  earthly  Paradise,  "  the  most  beautiful  [lands]  in  the 
world,  and  very  populous." 

After  Columbus  came  Alonzo  de  Ojeda,  who  sailed  w^est- 
ward  to  the  Gulf  of  Maracaibo,  where  he  chanced  upon  some  In- 
dian villages  built  on  piles,  and  so  named  the  land  Venezuela, 
or  "  Little  Venice."  In  the  next  year — the  opening  year  of  the 
sixteenth  century — Pere  Alonzo  Xino  sailed  over  the  same  course, 
and,  besides  confirming  the  reports  of  his  predecessors  as  to  the 
richness  of  the  vegetation  and  its  numerous  inhabitants,  w^as  for- 
tunate enough  to  secure  a  quantity  of  pearls.  Here,  then,  was 
a  land  yielding  pearls,  and  probably  gold,  for  the  treasure-seeker; 
and  Indians,  suitable  for  slaves,  so  the  Spaniards  thought.  To 
Tierra  Firme,  therefore,  an  adventurous  rabble  soon  found  their 
way,  and  the  horrors  of  the  Spanish  conquest  began. 

1  Contributed  through  the  courtesy  of  The  National  Geographic  Society. 

318 


THREE     OLD     PORTS  319 

For  a  moment,  however,  the  black  shadow  is  lifted,  and  one 
Bartholomew  de  Las  Casas  steps  forth — a  simple  priest,  afterward 
a  bishop,  but  "  a  figure,"  as  Fiske  eloquently  observes,  "  which 
is  in  some  respects  the  most  sublime  and  beautiful  in  the  annals 
of  Christianity  since  the  apostolic  age."  Las  Casas  had  dedicated 
his  life  to  the  protection  and  conversion  of  the  Indians,  and, 
securing  a  grant  from  the  king  for  a  tract  of  land  with  two  hundred 
and  sixty  leagues  of  seaboard  (the  whole  coast,  in  fact,  from 
the  peninsula  of  Paria  to  the  province  of  Santa  Marta),  he  set 
about  organizing  a  semi-religious  expedition,  which,  had  it 
been  successful,  might  have  changed  the  entire  history  of  Ven- 
ezuela. 

The  first  settlement  was  to  be  made  at  Cumana,  where  some 
Franciscan  monks  had  established  themselves  in  15 15,  and  was 
actually  begun  by  Gonzalez  Ocampo  in  1520,  though  his  cruelty 
and  treachery  toward  the  Indians  brought  Las  Casas'  cherished 
schemes  to  naught,  a  fitting  prelude  to  the  three — or,  shall  I  say, 
nearly  four — centuries  of  strife  and  misery  that  followed.  Las 
Casas  arrived  at  Cumana  in  1521,  but  during  his  subsequent  ab- 
sence in  Hayti  the  little  colony  was  driven  away  by  the  enraged 
and  deluded  Indians,  who  thus  banished  from  their  shores  the 
one  man  who  would,  and  could,  have  saved  them  from  their  piteous 
fate. 

Apart  from  the  hallowed  memories  of  this  devoted  priest, 
Cumana,  or  New  Toledo,  as  it  was  formerly  called,  has  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  the  first  European  settlement  in  Venezuela,  and 
with  the  exception  of  a  supposed  settlement  of  the  Portuguese  upon 
the  Amazon,  the  first  on  the  continent.  Ocampo  was  preceded  just 
one  year  by  Cortes  in  Mexico,  and  it  was  ten  years  later  that 
Pizarro  set  out  for  Peru.  When  John  Cotton  knelt  upon  the  shore 
at  Plymouth,  surrounded  by  his  devout  pilgrim  band,  and  asked 
God's  blessing  upon  their  enterprise,  a  century  lacking  one  year 
had  elapsed  since  his  noble  prototype  had  debarked  his  little  fol- 
lowing upon  the  lonely  Pearl  Coast,  and  prayed  with  equal  earnest- 
ness for  divine  assistance  in  establishing  a  Christian  colony.  One 
prayer  was  answered,  and  the  other  was  not,  and  Providence  only 
knoweth  why;  but  certainly  no  more  sacred  mission  was  ever 
undertaken  than  that  of  Las  Casas  to  Tierra  Firme.  When  we 
read,  therefore,  of  the  subsequent  misdeeds  of  the  conquistadores, 
let  us  not  forget  that  the  *'  Apostle  of  the  Indies  "  also  was  a  Span- 


320  SOUTH     A  ]M  ERICA 

iard,  and,  were  it  not  for  the  one  great  mistake  of  his  life — his 
defense  and  promotion  of  negro  slavery,  though  the  facts  have 
been  grossly  exaggerated  and,  indeed,  perverted — his  work  would 
perhaps  be  ranked  as  the  greatest  moral  factor  in  the  early  history 
of  the  New  World. 

It  is  hard  to  leave  this  heroic  figure  and  the  desolate  little 
settlement  that  marked  the  failure  of  his  first  great  project,  but 
Cumana,  in  time,  became  a  prosperous  town — that  is,  as  prosperity 
was  understood  in  the  Spanish  colonies — and  has  at  least  one 
other  claim  upon  our  notice,  viz.,  that  it  w^as  here  that  Humboldt 
landed,  and  remained  for  a  time,  with  his  friend  Bonpland,  before 
beginning  those  remarkable  journeys  that  added  so  materially  to 
all  branches  of  natural  science,  and,  perhaps  even  more  important 
at  this  day,  to  our  knowledge  of  the  economic  and  social  conditions 
of  colonial  Spain — conditions  that  might  never  have  been  under- 
stood had  this  indefatigable  traveler  and  scientist  not  arrived  so 
opportunely  before  the  revolutionary  struggle  began. 

Cumana  to-day  is  a  humdrum  city  of  about  10,000  inhabitants, 
the  capital  of  the  State  of  Bermudez,  and  an  important  port  in 
the  "  Orient,"  as  the  eastern  states  of  Venezuela  are  called,  though 
the  government  of  late  has  been  openly  hostile  to  its  interests. 
It  certainly  presents  a  sorry  contrast  to  the  town  of  a  century  ago, 
then  the  independent  capital  of  a  large  province,  or  rather  of  two, 
an  important  ecclesiastical  center,  and  ranking  easily  first  among 
all  the  cities  of  the  coast  in  the  culture  and  intelligence  of  its  in- 
habitants, as  indeed  a  Venezuelan  (not  a  native  of  Cumana)  in- 
forms me  is  still  the  case. 

Cumana  is  as  yet  almost  unknown  to  the  traveler,  partly  owing 
to  the  ignorance  or  lack  of  enterprise  of  the  steamship  companies 
that  make  it  a  port  of  call;  but  some  day  the  tourist  tide  will  set 
in,  and  not  only  the  city  itself,  but  the  delightful  hill  country  of 
the  interior,  as  well  as  the  neighboring  towns  of  Barcelona — which, 
like  Cumana,  was  the  scene  of  many  stirring  events  during  the 
war  of  independence — and  Carupano,  noted  for  its  trade  in  agri- 
cultural products,  and  for  its  incomparable  rum — all,  no  doubt, 
will  in  time  be  "  stopped  over  "  at  and  duly  photographed,  as  will 
the  extensive  salinas  or  salt  beds  of  Araya  and  the  neighboring 
island  of  Margarita,  where  the  famous  pearl  fisheries  are  situated. 
It  is  a  country  well  worth  visiting. 

"  So,  westward-ho,  they  ran,"  writes  Kingsley  of  the  good 


THREE     OLD     PORTS  321 

ship  Rose,  as  she  skirted  the  coast  between  Cape  CcKlera  and  La 
Guaira,  "  beneath  the  mighty  northern  wall,  the  highest  cliff  on 
earth,  some  seven  thousand  feet  of  rock  parted  from  the  sea  by 
a  narrow  strip  of  bright,  green  lowland.  Here  and  there  a  patch 
of  sugar-cane  or  a  knot  of  cocoanut  trees,  close  to  the  water's  edge, 
reminded  them  that  they  were  in  the  tropics ;  but  above,  all  was 
savage,  rough,  and  bare  as  an  Alpine  precipice.  Sometimes  deep 
clefts  allowed  the  southern  sun  to  pour  a  blaze  of  light  down  to  the 
sea  marge,  and  gave  glimpses  far  above  of  strange  and  stately  trees 
lining  the  glens,  and  of  a  veil  of  perpetual  mist  which  shrouded 
the  inner  summits,  while  up  and  down,  between  them  and  the 
mountain  side,  white,  fleecy  clouds  hung  motionless  in  the  burn- 
ing air,  increasing  the  impression  of  vastness  and  of  solemn  rest, 
which  was  already  overpowering." 

And  so,  indeed,  as  Kingsley  so  vividly  pictures  them,  do  these 
mighty  cliffs  appear;  and  one  learns  with  regret  that  the  talented 
novelist  should  never  have  beheld  their  awful  grandeur,  he  who 
alone,  perhaps,  has  done  justice  to  the  scene.  Inaccuracies,  to  be 
sure,  have  crept  into  the  description,  and  as  the  steamer  approaches 
from  the  north  the  traveler  may  fail,  through  a  misjudgment  of 
distance,  to  appreciate  the  magnitude  of  the  greenish-brown  mass 
before  him;  but  presently  he  spies  something  to  measure  with,  a 
cluster  of  buildings,  a  little  toy  city,  which  he  is  told  is  La  Guaira, 
while  apparently  but  a  stone's  throw  away  lies  Macuto,  the  well- 
known  watering  place.  Then,  perhaps,  though  almost  too  late — 
for  the  Red  D  line  has  a  schedule  to  maintain— does  the  full  im- 
pressiveness  of  the  scene  burst  upon  his  awakened  senses;  and  if 
there  yet  be  time,  let  him  gaze  intently  before  him,  for  the  view 
entirely  changes  when  he  lands,  and  not  until  he  is  once  more  on 
board,  and  the  vessel  well  in  the  ofling,  can  the  noble  proportions 
of  the  "  Silla  "  again  be  appreciated.  In  my  case,  unfortunately, 
my  first  view  was  my  last. 

La  Guaira,  for  all  its  fame,  or  rather  notoriety,  is  a  city  of 
but  fourteen  thousand  inhabitants,  or  about  two-thirds  the  size 
of  Bangor,  Maine;  but  even  this  seems  an  overestimate  when  one 
climbs  the  hillside  and  looks  down  upon  its  jumbled  mass  of  dark- 
red  roofs,  with  a  thin  line  running  east  and  west  along  the  shore 
and  a  short  spur  following  a  cleft  in  the  otherwise  impassable  bar- 
rier behind  it.  Prominent  at  the  water  front  are  the  market  place, 
the  large  customs  house — practically  the  raison  d'etre  of  the  city — 


322  SOUTHAM  ERICA 

tlie  inevitable  plaza,  and  the  new  shore  batteries,  erected  by  Presi- 
dent Castro. 

Here,  also,  is  the  terminus  of  the  La  Guaira  and  Caracas  Rail- 
way, and  jutting  out  from  the  shore  a  distance  of  two  thousand 
feet  or  more  is  the  famous  breakwater  which  has  done  so  much  to 
increase  the  traffic  of  the  port,  though  the  passenger  is  apt  to 
forget,  when  charged  to  set  foot  upon  it  and  denied  the  alternative 
of  hiring  a  boat,  that  this  formerly  was  one  of  the  most  disagree- 
able roadsteads  in  the  world.  Anyway,  in  a  land  of  habitual 
"  graft,"  why  should  the  stranger  be  spared  on  the  day  of  his 
arrival?  "Why,  indeed!"  echoes  the  collector  of  customs,  who 
incidentally  is  the  proprietor  of  the  Hotel  Xeptuno,  the  only  decent 
hostelry  in  the  place,  as  he  delays  the  inspection  of  luggage  till 
the  Caracas  train  has  departed  and  complacently  watches  the  pas- 
sengers stream  ofif  for  breakfast — wherever  they  like  to  go,  of 
course! 

La  Guaira  can  boast  of  several  churches  (one  a  rather  impos- 
ing structure),  a  bull  ring,  a  large  theater,  and  a  diminutive  fort, 
the  latter  perched  high  above  it,  like  the  turret  of  a  battleship, 
and  provided  with  the  same  armament  as  the  shore  battery,  viz., 
two  Cruezot  guns  of  the  latest  type.  To  one  side,  but  below  this 
fort,  stand  the  ruins  of  the  old  governor's  castle,  where  the  "  Rose 
of  Torridge  "  dwelt,  and  if  the  tourist  be  so  inclined  he  may  seat 
himself  upon  a  crumbling  wall,  and,  with  the  whole  scene  before 
him  and  the  sound  of  the  surf  in  his  ears,  may  imagine  he  sees 
the  brave  Devon  lads  fighting  their  way  to  the  boat,  their  best 
loved  leader  a  prisoner,  several  of  their  comrades  dead,  and  the 
daring  venture  of  the  Rose,  so  they  think,  an  utter  failure. 

An  American  who  recently  came  to  La  Guaira,  and  has  ex- 
perienced exceptionally  pleasant  weather,  calls  the  coast  hereabout 
the  "  Riviera  of  the  Tropics,"  while  a  well-known  writer  who  de- 
lights in  big  phrases  styles  Macuto  the  "  Saratoga,  the  Newport, 
and  the  Coney  Island  of  Venezuela,  all  in  one."  Both  compari- 
sons are  about  as  apt  as  is  the  term  "  Paris  of  South  America," 
applied  to  Caracas,  a  comparison,  to  digress  for  a  moment,  that 
unquestionably  aided  the  floating  of  a  recent  continental  syndicate, 
which  was  capitalized  at  several  million  francs,  and  proposed  es- 
tablishing a  large  gambling  casino  in  that  city.  The  enterprise, 
ot  course,  came  to  grief,  though  the  disappointment  of  the  pro- 
jector who  reached  Caracas  could  hardly  exceed  that  of  the  Ameri- 


THREE     OLD     PORTS  323 

can  tourist  who  should  travel  to  La  Guaira — hot,  ill-smelling  old 
town  that  it  is! — expecting  to  find  a  new  Riviera.  Nevertheless, 
La  Guaira  has  been  dealt  unjustly  wdth,  as  well,  even  in  the  matter 
of  smells,  which  few  tropical  towns  are  free  from,  not  excepting 
the  much-governed  city  of  Port-of-Spain;  and  while  one  can 
sympathize  with  the  former  American  consul,  who  in  the  elation 
of  departure  wrote: 

"Farewell,  ye  gloomy  casas,^  niejor  dicho,^  prison  cells; 
Ye  narrow,  crooked  callcs,*  reeking  with  atrocious  smells." 

and  in  another  stanza: 

"  Home  o£  the  wailing  donkey  and  the  all-abounding  flea, 
Manana,^  gracias  a  Dios^  I  bid  farwell  to  thee;" 

it  does  seem  as  if  the  final  lines,  both  from  a  sense  of  fair  play  and 
for  diplomatic  reasons,  might  have  been  somewhat  modified: 

"Good-bye,  ye  Latin  greasers,  su  atento  scrvidor;"^ 
Que  van  bien;  ^  pnes  adios;  ^ — my  boat  is  on  the  shore. 
Oh,  dirty  people,  dirty  homes,  oh,  despicable  spot, 
Departing  I  will  bless  you  in  your  dirtiness  and  rot!" 

Equally  unjust  is  the  cool  assertion — pardon  the  seeming 
paradox — of  the  writer  above  referred  to,  who  gives  the  town  a 
steady  temperature  of  "  ioo°  Fahrenheit  from  one  year's  end  to 
another."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  mean  temperature  is  about  84° 
Fahrenheit,  and  the  maximum  very  little  over  ninety,  which, 
owing  to  the  moisture  of  the  air,  could  easily  deceive  the  per- 
spiring tourist.  "  It  is  generally  the  duration  of  a  high  tempera- 
ture," observes  Humboldt,  "  and  not  the  excess  of  heat,  or  its 
absolute  quantity,  which  occasions  the  sufferings  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  torrid  zone  " ;  and  eighty-four  degrees  with  a  humid  atmos- 
phere is  certainly  excessive. 

Another  stigma  cast  upon  La  Guaira  is  its  unhealthfulness,  and 
especially  the  prevalence  of  yellow  fever.  La  Guaira,  be  it  known, 
is  not  particularly  unhealthful,  certainly  not  so  unhealthful  as 
Caracas,  and,  while  a  mild  form  of  yellow  fever  lurks  in  the 
neighborhood,  it  is  not  greatly  to  be  dreaded.  "  Indeed,"  the  in- 
habitants might  exclaim,  "who  gave  us  the  yellow  fever?     Was 

2  Houses ;    ^  better    said  ;    *  streets ;    ^  to-morrow ;    ^  thank    God ;    '  at   your 
service ;  *  good  luck  to  you ;  ^  so  good-bye. 


324  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

it  not  communicated  to  the  city  originally  by  a  vessel  from  Phila- 
delphia, after  we  had  enjoyed  more  than  two  centuries  of  im- 
munity?" This  charge,  to  be  sure,  has  not  been  proven,  but  the 
crew  of  an  American  vessel  in  port  (in  the  year  1799)  were 
actually  the  first  to  be  stricken,  and  local  historians  draw  their 
own  conclusions. 

La  Guaira  was  founded  in  1558,  two  years  before  our  ancient 
city  of  St.  Augustine,  and  has  shared  the  usual  vicissitudes  of  the 
Spanish  settlements  upon  the  coast,  having  been  repeatedly  at- 
tacked by  pirates  and  foreign  fleets,  several  of  which,  notably  that 
of  the  British  commodore  Knowles,  were  successfully  repulsed. 
The  city,  furthermore,  was  destroyed  by  the  great  earthquake  of 
1 81 2,  and  experienced  many  exciting  events  in  the  war  of  inde- 
pendence, as,  indeed,  it  has  at  intervals  ever  since,  not  least  of 
which  was  the  blockade  of  the  powers  a  few  years  ago.  This 
indignity,  however,  its  officials  assert,  will  never  be  repeated,  and 
they  point  to  the  well-equipped  batteries,  silent  and  grim,  but 
ever  ready  for  the  enemy — ready,  that  is,  in  a  Pickwickian  sense! 

I  have  coupled  Maracaibo  with  Cumana  and  La  Guaira  in 
naming  this  article,  though  the  situation  of  the  former  makes  the 
title  plainly  a  misnomer.  It  is  difficult,  however,  in  passing  to  this 
western  city  to  resist  mentioning  a  few  of  the  interesting  towns  in 
the  intervening  region,  historic  old  places,  such  as  Tocuyo,  founded 
in  1545;  Coro,  the  ancient  capital  of  the  province  of  Venezuela 
and  the  seat  of  the  Welsers,  founded  in  1527,  just  seven  years 
after  Cumana,  and  in  reality  the  first  permanent  settlement  in 
Tierra  Firme;  Carora,  founded  in  1572,  more  than  half  a  century 
after  Cumana,  yet  a  hundred  and  ten  years  before  William  Penn 
established  his  colony  on  the  northern  continent;  Ocumare — but 
why  continue  the  list ;  no  more  historic  region  can  be  found  in  the 
New  World  than  these  southern  shores  of  the  Caribbean  Sea, 
and  none,  certainly,  are  more  neglected  by  the  traveler. 

Maracaibo,  as  the  reader  is  aware,  is  situated  upon  the  lake 
of  the  same  name,  or  rather  upon  the  strait  connecting  the  lake 
with  the  outer  gulf.  Like  La  Guaira  and  Puerto  Cabello,  it  has 
excellent  steamer  communications  with  Curasao  and  New  York, 
an  American  line  having  built  two  vessels  of  sufficiently  light 
draft  to  pass  the  dangerous  sand  bars  that  obstruct  the  entrance 
to  the  lake.  Were  navigation  entirely  unobstructed,  and  the  city 
not  preyed  upon  as  it  has  been  by  every  government  since  the  time 


THREE     OLD     PORTS  326 

of  Guzman-Bianco,  it  would  long  since  have  been  one  of  the  most 
important  ports  in  Caribbean  countries,  for  behind  it  lies  a  vast 
lowland  region,  rich  in  all  manner  of  tropical  products  and  only 
rendered  inaccessible  in  places  by  the  very  profusion  of  its  wealth. 
Furthermore,  Maracaibo  is  the  port  of  a  considerable  section  of 
Colombia,  and  nearly  all  of  the  coffee  that  bears  its  name  comes 
either  from  across  the  boundary  or  from  the  Venezuelan  Cordillera 
region  south  and  east  of  the  lake.  At  intervals  of  a  year  or  so,  it 
would  appear.  President  Castro  from  some  fancied  grievance  pro- 
hibits all  intercourse  with  the  neighboring  republic ;  whereupon 
the  exports  of  "  Maracaibo  "  coffee  fall  to  half  the  usual  amount, 
only  to  leap  to  an  abnormal  figure  when  his  wrath  has  been  ap- 
peased. Colombian  cities  are  allowed  to  discharge  their  accumu- 
lated supply.  When  I  outlined'  this  article  the  barriers,  if  I 
mistake  not,  were  up ;  at  the  present  writing  they  have  been  re- 
moved. And  yet  Colombia,  like  Curagao,  was  at  one  time  a  haven 
of  refuge  when  the  President  was  a  fugitive.  What  unheard-of 
indignities  might  they  not  suffer  to-day  had  they  not  received 
him  so  hospitably! 

Maracaibo  has  the  unenviable  reputation  of  being  one  of  the 
most  unhealthful  cities  in  the  world,  which  is  sheer  nonsense,  for 
its  climate  is  said  to  be  rather  agreeable,  though  moist  and  hot. 
Yellow  fever  is  prevalent  at  times,  but  of  such  a  mild  type  that  it 
is  seldom  fatal,  and  German  commercial  houses  in  Cucuta,  where 
this  disease,  on  the  contrary,  is  most  deadly,  are  said  to  station 
their  newly  arrived  clerks  in  Maracaibo  until  they  have  taken  the 
fever  before  allowing  them  to  enter  the  interior.  I  did  not  believe 
this  story  until  a  gentleman  of  unquestionable  veracity  assured 
me  that  such  is  actually  the  case,  and  that  Maracaibo  fever,  like 
the  measles,  is  really  welcomed,  that  the  ordeal  may  be  over  for 
all  time. 

Perhaps  Maracaibo's  bad  name  originated  in  the  story  of  the 
consul  and  the  coffin,  of  which  many  versions  are  current.  Ex- 
Minister  Scruggs  gives  it  as  follows : 

"  A  Western  politician  of  some  local  prominence,  who  had 
long  been  pressed  upon  the  attention  of  our  State  Department  for 
a  consular  position  in  South  America,  was  finally  nominated  and 
confirmed  as  consul  to  Maracaibo,  much  to  the  disgust  and  dis- 
comfort of  the  incumbent,  who  wanted  to  retain  his  place.  The 
new  consul  arrived  at  his  post  in  midsummer    and  became  the 


326  SOUTH     AMERICA 

guest  of  his  predecessor,  whom  he  was  about  to  relieve.  Discov- 
ering a  metallic  coffin  in  an  obscure  closet  of  his  bedroom,  he 
inquired  of  his  host  the  next  morning  why  such  an  article  of 
furniture  should  be  there.  The  host  was  profuse  in  his  apologies, 
but  added  by  way  of  explanation  that  such  things  were  not  unusual 
in  Maracaibo,  especially  during  '  the  fever  season,  which,'  said 
he,  *  is  just  now  setting  in!'  The  new  consul  took  the  return 
steamer  for  New  York,  leaving  his  predecessor  undisturbed." 

Here  again  I  was  long  dubious  about  accepting  such  a  good 
yam  seriously,  till  I  was  assured  not  once,  but  a  dozen  times,  that 
it  is  essentially  true;  that  the  wily  consul  is  none  other  than  the 
present  incumbent,  and  that  he  himself  is  nothing  loath  to  admit 
the  fact.  Yet  few  travelers  go  to  verify  either  story,  perhaps 
from  an  unmanly  feeling  that  if  they  have  been  misinformed  they 
may  pay  for  the  error  by  taking  up  a  permanent  residence  there, 
without  the  assurance  even  of  a  consular  coffin. 

I  am  writing  of  Maracaibo  as  if  it  were  an  out-of-the-way 
village,  instead  of  an  important  city  and  port,  with  ocean  vessels 
coming  and  going,  and  fleets  of  sailing  craft  plying  to  various 
towns  upon  the  lake,  as  well  as  to  up-river  ports — a  city  that  can 
boast  of  electric  light,  tramway  lines,  telephones,  telegraphs,  a 
submarine  cable,  a  splendid  theater,  a  legislative  palace,  seven 
churches,  a  dockyard,  and,  to  quote  verbatim  from  the  official 
report,  "  2  clubs,  5  hotels,  17  inns,  24  restaurants,  and  all  modern 
improvements,"  which,  of  course,  is  equally  misleading. 

Maracaibo  was  founded  in  1571,  and  has  had  its  ups  and  downs, 
like  the  other  cities  upon  the  coast,  the  greatest  disaster  in  its  history 
being  the  raid  of  the  notorious  buccaneer,  Morgan,  in  1669,  which, 
had  it  been  two  years  later,  might  have  been  regarded  as  a  cen- 
tenary celebration.  To-day,  happily,  the  city  enjoys  comparative 
prosperity,  and  despite  the  unfortunate  reputation  for  unhealthful- 
ness  that  it  has  gained  abroad,  and,  within  the  republic,  the  equally 
unfortunate  association  in  the  popular  mind  with  its  huge  dungeon, 
crowded  with  political  suspects  and  the  wretched  leaders  of  the 
last  revolution — for  Maracaibo  and  its  prison  have  become  almost 
synonymous  terms  in  Venezuela — its  citizens  might  be  excused  for 
boasting  of  their  western  metropolis,  the  only  city  upon  the  Vene- 
zuelan coast  which  has  refused  to  be  merely  a  port  of  call  for 
vessels — an  aggregation  of  buildings,  so  to  speak,  surrounding  a 
customs  house. 


THREE     OLD     PORTS  327 

Notwithstanding  the  drawbacks,  from  the  tourist's  standpoint, 
to  many  of  the  places  I  have  mentioned,  I  beHeve  the  trip  to  and 
from  the  Venezuela  coast  will  soon  become  an  attractive  one,  even 
to  the  comfort-loving  American.  He  will  visit  Caracas,  La 
Guaira,  and  Macuto,  and  perhaps  Puerto  Cabello,  returning  either 
by  Curagao  and  Porto  Rico  or  by  Margarita,  Trinidad,  and  the 
beautiful  islands  of  the  Windward  group;  and  if  he  has  read  and 
treasured  as  a  child  the  strange  and  terrible  stories  of  the  Spanish 
Main,  with  its  gold-laden  galleons,  its  fierce  buccaneers,  and  the 
occasional  English  freebooter  from  the  Drake  of  history  to  the 
Amyas  Leigh  of  fiction,  no  trip  could  be  more  fascinating  to  him. 
The  invalid,  also,  will  in  time  be  attracted  to  these  southern  waters, 
and  will  find  to  his  surprise  that  a  voyage  through  the  Caribbean 
Sea  is  almost  as  delightful  and  quite  as  beneficial  as  a  tour  of  the 
Mediterranean. 


SOUTH    AMERICA   FIFTY   YEARS    HENCE » 
By  Charles  M.  Pepper 

IN  the  first  Pan-American  Conference,  which  was  held  in  Wash- 
ington in  1890,  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  delegates  from 
Latin  America  declared  that  the  twentieth  century  would  be- 
long to  South  America,  just  as  the  nineteenth  century  had  belonged 
to  the  United  States.  This  sentiment  was  reechoed  by  the  Third 
Pan-American  Conference  during  the  sessions  at  Rio  Janeiro.  In 
the  meantime  Canada  has  come  forward  with  rapid  strides,  and 
Premier  Laurier  asserts  that  the  twentieth  century  belongs  to 
Canada. 

In  the  opinion  of  many  people  in  the  United  States,  though 
they  know  almost  as  little  of  Canada  as  of  South  America — that 
is,  of  the  splendid  domain  which  stretches  from  the  maritime 
provinces  to  the  Pacific  and  the  regions  of  the  Yukon — the  Do- 
minion has  the  better  claim.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  quarrel 
with  either  prophecy.     Both  have  vast  possibilities. 

With  regard  to  South  America,  it  may  still  be  difficult  to 
convince  North  Americans  that  this  continent,  whose  area  comes 
within  a  fraction  of  equaling  North  America,  has  a  future  which 
should  not  be  measured  by  the  past;  or  that  fifty  years  hence  it 
will  not  continue  to  be  the  region  best  known  to  the  rest  of  the 
world  as  the  seat  of  earthquakes  and  revolutions.  There  is  no 
need  to  enter  here  into  political  abstractions  or  theories  which  in- 
volve the  political  future  of  the  southern  continent.  In  a  half 
century  from  now,  looking  backward,  it  may  be  interesting  to  see 
how  speculative  principles  have  yielded  to  hard  economic  facts. 
The  point  for  the  present  is  that  South  America  has  a  future  which 
is  just  becoming  known  to  itself.  In  all  its  possibilities,  indus- 
trial and  political,  this  may  be  described  as  a  geographic  future, 
and  the  geography  is  commercial  rather  than  political  geography. 

The  influence  of  the  physical  aspects  of  the  continent  always 
must  be  considered  in  relation  to  South  America  as  a  whole.     The 

*  Contributed  through  the   courtesy  of  The  National  Geographic  Society. 

328 


FIFTY     YEARS     HENCE  329 

sixteenth  century  idea  that  the  precious  metals  constituted  the 
principal  wealth  of  a  nation  has  been  very  slowly  dissipated.  The 
mineral  resources  of  the  Andes  and  of  the  other  mountain  systems 
of  South  America  will  continue  a  very  potent  incentive  during  the 
next  half  century,  but  the  greater  development  is  going  to  come 
from  supplying  what  mankind  eats  and  wears.  South  America's 
productive  resources  must  be  considered  in  relation  to  the  world's 
cotton  crop,  wool  clip,  cereal  products,  coffee  crop,  sheep  and  cattle, 
and  rubber.  Thus  the  Amazon  forests,  the  Brazil  coffee  planta- 
tions, the  Argentine  wheat  fields  and  grazing  ranges,  and  the 
Chilian  nitrate  beds  are  all  to  be  considered,  as  well  as  the  mines 
of  Bolivia  and  Peru. 

Some  epoch-making  economic  events  will  mark  the  coming 
half  century.  There  will  be  an  overflow  of  capital  from  the  United 
States,  and  this  will  be  an  enormous  factor  in  securing  the  de- 
velopment of  the  various  countries.  Up  to  this  time  our  capital 
has  been  so  fully  employed  at  home  that  it  could  not  be  induced 
to  venture  abroad.  Now  a  new  condition,  fully  recognized  in  the 
circles  of  high  finance,  though  not  appreciated  by  the  people  at 
large,  is  arising,  and  this  new  condition  is  marked  by  the  invest- 
ment of  large  sums  of  money  in  railway  and  similar  construction 
enterprises  as  well  as  in  mines.  These  investments  are  tentative 
and  preliminary,  but  they  recognize  the  growing  necessity  of  finding 
an  outlet  for  redundant  funds  in  the  South  American  field. 

There  is  also,  of  course,  the  Panama  Canal,  which  has  incal- 
culable possibilities  for  the  west-coast  countries  without  in  any  way 
impairing  the  growth  of  the  Atlantic  regions. 

North  Americans  are  more  familiar  with  the  Atlantic  coast, 
and  for  various  reasons  those  countries  already  have  shown  the 
most  marked  progress ;  but  the  general  line  of  development  during 
the  next  fifty  years  may  be  described  as  inter-South  American  and 
not  restricted  to  any  one  region. 

It  was  just  about  half  a  century  ago  that  the  South  American 
countries  began  to  build  their  first  railways.  The  Argentine  Re- 
public in  1907  will  hold  a  railway  exposition  at  Buenos  Ayres  to 
commemorate  its  first  railroad,  which  was  a  short  and  unimportant 
one.  Brazil  started  its  lines  somewhat  later,  while  on  the  Pacific 
coast  there  were  various  schemes  for  piercing  the  Andes.  One  of 
the  first  railroads  constructed  in  South  America  was  in  southern 
Peru,  from  Arica  to  Tacna,  and  the  prediction  was  that  it  soon 


830  SOUTH     AMERICA 

would  cross  the  volcanic  coast  Cordilleras  and  reach  the  great  cen- 
tral plain  of  Bolivia.  Another  line  was  from  Valparaiso  and  San- 
tiago right  to  the  mountain  wall  of  the  Cordillera,  and  this  w'as 
expected  to  bore  its  way  through  and  reach  the  pampas  of  Argen- 
tina. But  half  a  century  passed  and  the  Andes  wall  was  still 
unconquered  and  the  skeptics  renewed  their  doubts  whether  it  ever 
would  be  pierced. 

On  the  Atlantic  slope  the  engineering  difficulties  w^ere  not  so 
great  and  both  Brazil  and  Argentina  from  year  to  year  spread 
out  their  systems  of  railways;  yet,  considering  the  resources  of 
the  regions  to  be  developed,  these  extensions  were  not  up  to 
expectation,  and  the  prophets  of  doubt  again  raised  their  distressed 
voices.  Prophets  of  this  class,  however,  lacked  the  sense  of  pro- 
portion and  failed  to  note  the  really  remarkable  development  that 
had  taken  place.  Few  of  them  yet  have  an  idea  of  the  enormous 
foreign  commerce  that  has  been  developed  by  the  Atlantic  coast 
countries,  which  now  reaches  approximately  $800,000,000  annually 
and  soon  will  be  $1,000,000,000. 

It  may  be  that  fifty  years  hence  northern  Brazil — that  is,  the 
torrid  region  of  the  Amazon — will  not  have  a  notably  greater 
population  or  a  greater  commerce  than  now  exists,  for  much  of 
that  vast  basin  is  not  a  white  man's  country  and  is  not  susceptible 
of  permanent  settlement  by  the  Caucasian  races.  It  is  fifty  years 
since  Alfred  Russel  Wallace  wrote  his  fascinating  description  of 
life  on  the  Amazon,  and  in  another  fifty  years  the  civilization  may 
not  be  markedly  different.  It  is  even  possible  that  in  another  half 
century  the  increasing  appetite  for  crude  rubber  will  have  caused 
the  gum  forests  to  be  depleted  almost  completedly ;  yet  the  measures 
adopted  by  the  Brazilian  government  for  preserving  this  industry 
and  for  encouraging  new  cultivation  are  taken  especially  with  a 
view  to  fifty  years  and  a  century  hence.  So  it  is  more  probable 
that  Para,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon;  Manaos,  the  fluvial  capital; 
and  Iqnitos,  the  Peruvian  rubber  metropolis,  to  which  Commander 
Todd,  of  the  United  States  Navy,  took  the  Wilmington  a  few  years 
ago,  will  sliow  a  growth  proportionate  to  that  of  the  last  half 
century.  In  the  case  of  Iquitos  the  half  century  cannot  be  taken 
as  the  measure  mark  of  growth,  since  its  existence  only  dates  back 
a  quarter  of  a  centur)'. 

With  Brazil  the  greatest  development  is  more  likely  to  be 
in  the  semitropical  and  the  temperate  regions  in  the  southern  part 


FIFTY     YEARS     HENCE  331 

of  its  extensive  territory.  No  reason  exists  for  imagining  that  in 
half  a  century  the  country's  position  as  the  chief  source  of  coffee 
production  will  be  altered,  and  there  is  cause  to  believe  that  vast 
cotton  plantations  also  will  exist;  but  the  more  rapid  growth  will 
be  in  the  states  of  southern  Brazil  where  the  cereals  are  raised. 
Brazil  is  so  vast  and,  except  on  the  fringe  of  coast,  is  so  unde- 
veloped that  it  is  difficult  to  guess  at  this  period  how  far  the 
development  will  advance  inland.  It  may  not  progress  very  far 
in  fifty  years,  and  yet,  with  the  very  large  area  which  is  contiguous 
to  the  coast,  even  a  relatively  slight  growth  would  add  very 
materially  to  the  productive  resources  and  the  commercial  oppor- 
tunities of  the  country. 

There  is  almost  a  certainty  that  a  phase  of  development  which 
follows  the  line  of  least  resistance  will  be  realized  within  the  next 
fifty  years  by  the  construction  of  a  railway  trunk  from  Pernam- 
buco  to  the  border  of  Uruguay.  This  is  the  grand  conception 
known  as  the  Interoceanic  Railway,  whose  ultimate  purpose  is  to 
place  Pernambuco  in  through  railway  communication  with  Val- 
paraiso on  the  Pacific,  traversing  a  total  distance  of  approximately 
4000  miles.  The  sections  through  other  countries  may  be  over- 
looked temporarily  and  this  proposed  trunk  line  be  considered  with 
reference  to  Brazil  alone.  It  would  run  from  Pernambuco  along 
the  course  of  the  San  Francisco  River,  forming  a  northeast  and 
southwest  artery,  giving  several  Brazilian  states  needed  railway 
communication  by  branches  and  by  crossing  the  systems  of  the 
states  of  Bahia,  Minas  Geraes,  San  Paolo,  Parana,  and  Rio  Grande 
do  Sul,  The  distance  from  Pernambuco  to  the  border  of  Uruguay 
is  2800  miles  and  the  technical  conditions  for  railway  construction 
are  not  difficult.  The  Brazilian  government  gave  the  project  its 
indorsement  fifteen  years  ago,  and  some  preliminary  studies  and 
surveys  of  the  route  have  been  made.  It  may  lie  dormant  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century  or  more,  or  it  may  be  taken  up  within  the  next 
ten  years,  but  it  is  certain  to  come  within  the  next  half  century 
and  to  add  enormously  to  Brazil's  development,  both  in  population 
and  in  production  and  commerce. 

The  Argentine  Republic  is  best  known  of  all  the  South  Ameri- 
can countries  because  it  produces  cereals  and  beef,  mutton,  wool, 
and  hides  in  competition  with  the  United  States,  Canada,  and 
European  countries;  yet  it  is  difficult  to  keep  pace  with  the  enor- 
mous growth  of  Argentine  agriculture  during  the  last  few  years, 


SOUTH     AMERICA 

just  as  very  many  persons  are  still  unable  to  grasp  the  fact  that 
instead  of  being  a  little  country  somewhere  down  in  South  America 
it  is  twenty-eight  times  the  size  of  Ohio,  and  that  while  in  the 
northern  regions  it  produces  sugar  and  other  tropical  products, 
yet  as  a  whole  it  is  to  be  viewed  as  another  Mississippi  Valley. 
The  Argentine  Minister  of  Agriculture  estimates  the  wheat  crop 
for  the  year  1906  at  3,882,000  tons,  the  area  under  cultivation 
being  14,028,000  acres.  The  foreign  commerce  for  the  same  year 
exceeded  $550,000,000. 

The  population  of  the  country  is  not  in  excess  of  5,250,000. 
Argentina  easily  has  room  for  50,000,000  inhabitants.  I  don't 
pretend  to  say  that  it  will  have  50,000,000  or  anything  like  that 
number  fifty  years  hence ;  yet  there  must  be  an  appreciable  growth, 
for  the  country  can  sustain  a  dense  agricultural  population  from  its 
northern  border  clear  down  through  Patagonia,  and  settlements 
will  spread  through  all  those  regions.  Buenos  Ayres  in  1856  had 
100,000  inhabitants;  to-day  it  has  more  than  1,000,000.  It  is 
no  wild  flight  of  fancy  to  prophesy  that  in  another  fifty  years  its 
population  will  be  2,500,000,  and  that  on  the  southern  continent, 
2000  miles  south  of  the  Equator,  there  will  be  a  city  which  may 
not  be  exceeded  by  more  than  two  cities  in  the  United  States. 

In  considering  the  industrial  and  commercial  South  America 
of  fifty  years  hence  as  relates  to  the  Atlantic  coast,  it  would  be 
better  to  disregard  the  lines  formed  by  the  boundaries  of  countries 
and  to  consider  Argentina,  Uruguay,  southern  Brazil,  and  part  of 
Paraguay  as  one  section,  for  in  this  region  are  the  enormous 
productive  resources  which  constitute  it  the  world's  granary,  that 
will  be  drawn  upon  as  rapidly  as  the  United  States  and  Canada 
require  their  own  agricultural  products  for  home  consumption. 
The  statistics  of  agricultural  output  for  this  central  region  will 
be  the  measure  of  growth.  Another  means  of  measuring  it  will 
be  the  shipping  statistics  of  Buenos  Ayres  and  Montevideo. 

To  the  economic  effect  of  the  Panama  Canal  on  the  west- 
coast  countries  of  South  America,  and  to  the  possibilities  of  the 
Pan-American  Railway  project,  I  shall  give  only  brief  considera- 
tion here,  starting  with  the  premise  that  the  railways  will  spread 
across  the  Andes  and  make  some  of  the  regions  on  the  eastern 
side  tributary  to  the  west  coast.  In  stating  that  the  efforts  to 
pierce  the  Andes  from  Tacna  and  Valparaiso  did  not  come  up  to  the 
expectations  of  a  half  century  ago,  I  neglected  to  add  that  the 


FIFTY     YEARS     HENCE 

beginning  of  the  present  fifty-year  period  will  be  marked  by  this 
through  communication.  The  trans-Andine  tunnel  through  the 
Uspallata  Pass  from  the  Chilian  side  to  the  Argentine  side  at  Men- 
doza  will  be  completed  within  less  than  three  years,  and  the  railway 
from  Arica  and  Tacna  to  La  Paz,  in  Bolivia,  will  be  finished  within 
four  or  five  years.  These  results  are  to  be  accomplished  under 
contracts  already  let. 

In  the  Intercontinental  or  Pan-American  Trunk  Line  project 
undoubtedly  there  will  be  long  halts  before  all  the  gaps  in  such 
sections  as  those  between  Cuzco,  in  Peru,  and  Quito,  in  Ecuador, 
are  completed;  but  all  this  is  easily  within  the  vista  of  half  a  cen- 
tury. The  spell  of  the  inca  civilization  may  come  over  the  railway 
builder  in  Peru,  but  from  the  ruins  of  that  civilization  he  may 
take  lessons  in  road  construction  which  can  be  applied  to  railway 
lines. 

It  is  an  engaging  theme  to  inquire  whether,  in  addition  to 
the  coast  development,  within  half  a  century  the  heart  of  South 
America  will  really  have  the  arteries  of  commerce  pulsating  through 
it.  Now  Bolivia,  in  the  Andes,  may  be  considered  as  the  heart 
of  South  America.  Here,  too,  there  have  been  projects  almost  half  a 
century  old  for  opening  up  this  great  interior  to  the  outside  world. 
Thirty  years  ago  Colonel  George  Earl  Church,  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  of  American  civil  engineers,  entered  heartily  into 
the  project  of  railway  building  in  connection  with  river  navigation, 
which  was  to  insure  the  through  route  to  the  Atlantic  by  way  of 
the  Amazon  and  its  affluents.  The  plan  went  down  in  disaster 
due  to  financial  and  other  reasons.  But  to-day  Bolivia  has  the 
assurance,  probably  within  ten  years,  of  railway  outlets  to  the 
Pacific  at  Arica,  at  Mollendo,  and  probably  at  Callao,  while  on 
the  Atlantic  side  there  is  the  certainty  of  reaching  the  Plata  at 
Buenos  Ayres  through  the  connection  with  the  Argentine  systems, 
and  a  later  possibility  of  reaching  the  Atlantic  through  Paraguay. 

For  the  Amazon  there  is  also  now  the  certainty  of  realizing 
Colonel  Church's  plan,  for  the  Brazilian  government  will  be  im- 
pelled by  the  outlets  Bolivia  is  securing  in  other  directions  to  build 
the  long-deferred  railway  around  the  falls  of  the  Madeira  to  Santo 
Antonio.  It  already  has  made  financial  provision  for  this  purpose 
just  as  Bolivia  has  made  provision  by  contracts  signed  within  the 
last  few  months  for  the  connection  of  a  series  of  links  from  Lake 
Titicaca  to  the  border  of  Argentina,  and  also  to  Puerto  Pando,  on 


334  SOUTH     AMERICA 

the  Beni  River,  which  is  the  beginning  of  navigation  to  the  Ama- 
zon. At  the  very  farthest,  the  opening  up  of  this  heart  of  South 
America  may  be  placed  at  a  quarter  of  a  century  instead  of  fifty 
years  hence. 

There  is  another  phase  of  river  transportation  v^hich  un- 
doubtedly will  be  considered  within  the  next  fifty  years.  General 
Rafael  Reyes,  the  President  of  Colombia,  in  his  explorations 
showed  the  possibility  of  interfluvial  communication  through  all 
South  America.  Other  explorers  and  writers  have  advanced 
various  propositions  for  bringing  the  Mississippi  Valley,  through 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  immense  interior  of  South 
America,  through  the  mouths  of  the  Amazon  and  the  Orinoco,  into 
more  direct  communication.  It  is  very  fascinating  to  think  of 
sailing  from  New  York  or  New  Orleans  up  the  Orinoco  or  the 
Amazon,  and  thence  in  smaller  boats,  and  even  canoes,  with  an 
occasional  portage,  dropping  down  to  Buenos  Ayres.  Fifty  years 
hence  it  is  quite  probable  that  the  canal,  of  less  than  looo  feet  in 
length,  which  the  early  Portuguese  explorers  proposed  from  the 
headwaters  of  the  Guapore,  the  largest  affluent  of  the  Madeira,  in 
the  Brazilian  state  of  Matto  Grosso,  to  connect  with  the  streamlets 
Aguapey  and  Estiva,  which  empty  into  the  Jauru,  a  tributary  of 
the  Paraguay,  will  be  completed  and  a  through  means  of  naviga- 
tion be  obtained.  The  Portuguese  made  this  canoe  voyage  with- 
out much  portage.  Some  years  ago,  in  Rio  Janeiro,  I  saw  the 
plans  for  the  modern  canal  connection,  and  they  appeared  not  only 
feasible  in  the  engineering  sense,  but  practicable  in  the  commercial 
view.  Yet  this  general  fact  is  apparent — water  transportation  by 
means  of  inland  rivers  never  reaches  its  full  utility  until  the  railway 
systems  begin  to  spread  a  network  among  the  river  courses;  nor 
do  colonization  and  immigration  follow  upstream.  There  are 
numerous  regions  in  South  America  easily  accessible  by  river  navi- 
gation, yet  the  efforts  to  plant  colonies  at  their  headwaters  have 
failed.  When  the  railway  begins  to  creep  along,  then  the  people 
appear. 

The  whole  question  of  immigration  has  to  be  considered  in 
discounting  the  South  America  of  fifty  years  hence.  The  move- 
ment has  been  very  slow,  and  even  with  the  better  governrnent 
which  is  now  assured  in  most  of  the  South  American  countries,  it 
is  not  likely  to  keep  pace  with  the  needs  of  production;  yet  in  time 
it  will  be  secured,  and  probably  there  will  be  a  notable  movement 


FIFTY     YEARS     HENCE  .        336 

within  the  next  few  years  to  Argentina,  Uruguay,  and  southern 
Brazil,  and  later  to  the  inter-Andine  regions. 

It  must  follow,  if  the  development  which  is  to  show  that  the 
South  America  of  fifty  years  hence  has  made  much  greater  progress 
than  during  the  preceding  half  century  does  not  prove  an  illusion, 
that  the  minor  streams  of  immigration  will  turn  into  currents. 
The  native  Indian  stock  of  the  South  American  countries  must  be 
overlapped.  The  South  America  of  the  middle  of  the  twentieth 
century  will  be  less  Spanish  also,  though  possibly  not  less  Latin, 
for  one  of  the  great  sources  of  immigration  which  is  peopling 
Argentina  and  some  sections  of  Brazil  is  from  Italy.  The  Panama 
Canal  is  likely  to  bring  this  element  around  to  the  west-coast  coun- 
tries. The  northern  races — Scandinavians,  Germans,  and  natives 
of  the  British  Islands — will  find  much  larger  areas  of  settlement 
than  heretofore  they  have  cared  to  seek.  The  Scotch  sheep  herders 
already  have  taken  very  kindly  to  Patagonia,  while  Welsh  and 
Russian  colonies  also  are  established  in  that  region.  It  may  even 
be  that  from  the  United  States  there  will  be  some  overflow  of  our 
own  cosmopolitan  population,  though  the  direct  ocean  routes  cannot 
be  changed  and  Argentina  and  Brazil  must  continue  closer  to 
Europe  than  to  the  United  States. 

In  conclusion,  viewing  South  America  fifty  years  hence,  both 
in  relation  to  the  productive  regions  which  will  attract  immigra- 
tion and  to  the  conditions  of  life  which  insure  a  permanent  popula- 
tion, it  may  be  said  that  the  star  of  empire  takes  its  way  south  from 
the  Caribbean  to  Patagonia.  That  is  the  course  for  the  grain-raiser, 
for  the  wool-grower,  and  for  the  grazer.  It  is  also  the  course  for 
the  miner  who  follows  the  trend  of  the  Andes. 


AN  AWAKENED  CONTINENT  TO  THE  SOUTH  OF  US  ^ 
By  Hon.  Elihu  Root,  Secretary  of  State 

A  LITTLE  less  than  three  centuries  of  colonial  and  national 
life  have  brought  the  people  inhabiting  the  United  States, 
by  a  process  of  evolution,  natural  and  with  the  existing 
forces  inevitable,  to  a  point  of  distinct  and  radical  change  in  their 
economic  relations  to  the  rest  of  mankind. 

During  the  period  now  past  the  energy  of  our  people,  directed 
by  the  formative  power  created  in  our  early  population  by  heredity, 
by  environment,  by  the  struggle  for  existence,  by  individual  inde- 
pendence, and  by  free  institutions,  has  been  devoted  to  the  internal 
development  of  our  own  countr}^  The  surplus  wealth  produced 
by  our  labors  has  been  applied  immediately  to  reproduction  in  our 
own  land.  We  have  been  cutting  down  forests  and  breaking  virgin 
soil  and  fencing  prairies  and  opening  mines  of  coal  and  iron  and 
copper  and  silver  and  gold,  and  building  roads  and  canals  and 
railroads  and  telegraph  lines  and  cars  and  locomotives  and  mills 
and  furnaces  and  school-houses  and  colleges  and  libraries  and  hos- 
pitals and  asylums  and  public  buildings  and  store-houses  and  shops 
and  homes.  We  have  been  drawing  on  the  resources  of  the  world 
in  capital  and  in  labor  to  aid  us  in  our  work.  We  have  gathered 
strength  from  every  rich  and  powerful  nation  and  expended  it  upon 
these  home  undertakings;  into  them  we  have  poured  hundreds  of 
millions  of  money  attracted  from  the  investors  of  Europe.  We 
have  been  always  a  debtor  nation,  borrowing  from  the  rest  of  the 
world,  drawing  all  possible  energy  toward  us  and  concentrating 
it  with  our  own  energy  upon  our  own  enterprises.  The  engrossing 
pursuit  of  our  own  opportunities  has  excluded  from  our  considera- 
tion and  interest  the  enterprises  and  the  possibilities  of  the  outside 
world.  Invention,  discovery,  the  progress  of  science,  capacity  for 
organization,  the  enormous  increase  in  the  productive  power  of 

^  An  address  before  the  Trans-Mississippi  Commercial  Congress,  Kansas 
City.  Missouri.  Tuesday,  November  20,  1906,  printed  here  by  special  permission 
from  Mr.  Root. 

336 


AN     AWAKENED     CONTINENT  337 

mankind,  have  accelerated  our  progress  and  have  brought  us  to  a 
result  of  development  in  every  branch  of  internal  industrial  activity 
marvelous  and  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  the  world. 

Since  the  first  election  of  President  McKinley  the  people  of  the 
United  States  have  for  the  first  time  accumulated  a  surplus  of 
capital  beyond  the  requirements  of  internal  development.  That 
surplus  is  increasing  with  extraordinary  rapidity.  We  have  paid 
our  debts  to  Europe  and  have  become  a  creditor  instead  of  a 
debtor  nation ;  we  have  faced  about ;  we  have  left  the  ranks  of  the 
borrowing  nations  and  have  entered  the  ranks  of  the  investing 
nations.  Our  surplus  energy  is  beginning  to  look  beyond  our  own 
borders,  throughout  the  world,  to  find  opportunity  for  the  profitable 
use  of  our  surplus  capital,  foreign  markets  for  our  manufactures, 
foreign  mines  to  be  developed,  foreign  bridges  and  railroads  and 
public  works  to  be  built,  foreign  rivers  to  be  turned  into  electric 
power  and  light.  As  in  their  several  ways  England  and  France 
and  Germany  have  stood,  so  we  in  our  own  way  are  beginning  to 
stand  and  must  continue  to  stand  toward  the  industrial  enterprise 
of  the  world. 

That  we  are  not  beginning  our  new  role  feebly  is  indicated 
by  $1,518,561,666  of  exports  in  the  year  1905  as  against  $1,117,- 
513,071  of  imports,  and  by  $1,743,864,500  of  exports  in  the  year 
1906  as  against  $1,226,563,843  of  imports.  Our  first  steps  in  the 
new  field  indeed  are  somewhat  clumsy  and  unskilled.  In  our  own 
vast  country,  with  oceans  on  either  side,  we  have  had  too  little 
contact  with  foreign  peoples  readily  to  understand  their  customs  or 
learn  their  languages ;  yet  no  one  can  doubt  that  we  shall  learn 
and  shall  understand  and  shall  do  our  business  abroad  as  we  have 
done  it  at  home  with  force  and  efficiency. 

Coincident  with  this  change  in  the  United  States  the  progress 
of  political  development  has  been  carrying  the  neighboring  continent 
of  South  America  out  of  the  stage  of  militarism  into  the  stage  of 
industrialism.  Throughout  the  greater  part  of  that  vast  continent 
revolutions  have  ceased  to  be  looked  upon  wnth  favor  or  submitted 
to  with  indifference ;  the  revolutionary  general  and  the  dictator  are 
no  longer  the  objects  of  admiration  and  imitation;  civic  virtues 
command  the  highest  respect ;  the  people  point  with  satisfaction  and 
pride  to  the  stability  of  their  governments,  to  the  safety  of  property 
and  the  certainty  of  justice;  nearly  everywhere  the  people  are  eager 
for  foreign  capital  to  develop  their  natural  resources  and  for  foreign 


338  S  O  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

immigration  to  occupy  their  vacant  land.  Immediately  before  us, 
at  exactly  the  right  time,  just  as  we  are  ready  for  it,  great  opportu- 
nities for  peaceful  commercial  and  industrial  expansion  to  the  south 
are  presented. 

Other  investing  nations  are  already  in  the  field — England, 
France,  Germany,  Italy,  Spain;  but  the  field  is  so  vast,  the  new 
demands  are  so  great,  the  progress  so  rapid,  that  what  other  nations 
have  done  up  to  this  time  is  but  a  slight  advance  in  the  race  for 
the  grand  total.  The  opportunities  are  so  large  that  figures  fail 
to  convey  them.  The  area  of  this  newly  awakened  continent  is 
7,502,848  square  miles — more  than  two  and  one-half  times  as 
large  as  the  United  States  without  Alaska  and  more  than  double 
the  United  States  including  Alaska.  A  large  part  of  this  area  lies 
within  the  temperate  zone,  with  an  equable  and  invigorating  climate, 
free  from  extremes  of  either  heat  or  cold.  Farther  north  in  the 
tropics  are  enormous  expanses  of  high  tablelands  stretching  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  foothills  of  the  Andes,  and  lifted  far  above  the 
tropical  heats;  the  fertile  valleys  of  the  western  Cordilleras  are 
cooled  by  perpetual  snows  even  under  the  Equator;  vast  forests 
grow  untouched  from  a  soil  of  incredible  richness.  The  plains  of 
Argentina,  the  great  uplands  of  Brazil;  the  mountain  valleys  of 
Chili,  Peru,  Ecuador,  Bolivia,  and  Colombia  are  suited  to  the 
habitation  of  any  race,  however  far  to  the  north  its  origin  may  have 
been ;  hundreds  of  millions  of  men  can  find  healthful  homes  and 
abundant  sustenance  in  this  great  territory. 

The  population  in  1900  was  only  42,461,381,  less  than  six 
to  the  square  mile.  The  density  of  population  was  less  than  one- 
eighth  of  that  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  less  than  one-sixtieth  of 
that  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  less  than  one-seventieth  of  that 
in  England,  less  than  one  per  cent,  of  that  in  Belgium, 

With  this  sparse  population  the  production  of  wealth  is  already 
enormous.  The  latest  trade  statistics  show  exports  from  South 
America  to  foreign  countries  of  $745,530,000,  and  imports  of  $499,- 
858,600.  Of  the  five  hundred  millions  of  goods  that  South  America 
buys  we  sell  them  but  $63,246,525,  or  12.6  per  cent.  Of  the  seven 
hundred  and  forty-five  millions  that  South  America  sells  we  buy 
$152,092,000,  or  20.4  per  cent.,  nearly  two  and  a  half  times  as 
much  as  we  sell. 

Their  production  is  increasing  by  leaps  and  bounds.  In  eleven 
years  the  exports  of  Chili  have  increased  forty-five  per  cent.,  from 


AN     AWAKENED     CONTINENT  839 

$54,030,000  in  1894,  to  $78,840,000,  in  1905.  In  eight  years  the 
exports  of  Peru  have  increased  one  hundred  per  cent.,  from  $13,- 
899,000  in  1897  to  $28,758,000  in  1905.  In  ten  years  the  exports 
of  Brazil  have  increased  sixty-six  per  cent.,  from  $134,062,000  in 
1894  to  $223,101,000,  in  1905.  In  ten  years  the  exports  of  Argen- 
tina have  increased  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  per  cent.,  from 
$115,868,000  in  1895  to  $311,544,000  in  1905. 

This  is  only  the  beginning ;  the  coffee  and  rubber  of  Brazil,  the 
wheat  and  beef  and  hides  of  Argentina  and  Uruguay,  the  copper 
and  nitrates  of  Chili,  the  copper  and  tin  of  Bolivia,  the  silver  and 
gold  and  cotton  and  sugar  of  Peru,  are  but  samples  of  what  the 
soil  and  mines  of  that  wonderful  continent  are  capable  of  yielding. 
Ninety-seven  per  cent,  of  the  territory  of  South  America  is  occu- 
pied by  ten  independent  republics  living  under  constitutions  sub- 
stantially copied  or  adapted  from  our  own.  Under  the  new  condi- 
tions of  tranquillity  and  security  which  prevail  in  most  of  them,  their 
eager  invitation  to  immigrants  from  the  old  world  will  not  long 
pass  unheeded. 

The  pressure  of  population  abroad  will  inevitably  turn  its 
streams  of  life  and  labor  toward  those  fertile  fields  and  valleys; 
the  streams  have  already  begun  to  flow ;  more  than  two  hundred 
thousand  immigrants  entered  the  Argentine  Republic  last  year ;  they 
are  coming  this  year  at  the  rate  of  over  three  hundred  thousand. 
Many  thousands  of  Germans  have  already  settled  in  southern  Brazil. 
They  are  most  welcome  in  Brazil ;  they  are  good  and  useful  citizens 
there  as  they  are  here ;  I  hope  that  many  more  will  come  to  Brazil 
and  every  other  South  American  country,  and  add  their  vigorous  in- 
dustry and  good  citizenship  to  the  upbuilding  of  their  adopted  home. 

With  the  increase  of  population  in  such  a  field,  under  free  in- 
stitutions, with  the  fruits  of  labor  and  the  rewards  of  enterprise 
secure,  the  production  of  wealth  and  the  increase  of  purchasing 
power  will  afford  a  market  for  the  commerce  of  the  world  worthy 
to  rank  even  with  the  markets  of  the  Orient  as  the  goal  of  business 
enterprise. 

The  material  resources  of  South  America  are  in  some  important 
respects  complementary  to  our  own ;  that  continent  is  weakest  where 
North  America  is  strongest  as  a  field  for  manufactures ;  it  has  com- 
paratively little  coal  and  iron. 

In  many  respects  the  people  of  the  two  continents  are  comple- 
mentary to  each  other;  the  South  American  is  polite,  refined,  culti- 


340  SOUTH     AMERICA 

vated,  fond  of  literature  and  of  expression  and  of  the  graces  and 
chamis  of  life,  while  the  North  American  is  strenuous,  intense, 
utilitarian.  Where  we  accumulate,  they  spend.  While  we  have 
less  of  the  cheerful  philosophy  which  finds  sources  of  happiness  in 
the  existing  conditions  of  life,  they  have  less  of  the  inventive  faculty 
which  strives  continually  to  increase  the  productive  power  of  man 
and  lower  the  cost  of  manufacture.  The  chief  merits  of  the  peoples 
of  the  two  continents  are  different ;  their  chief  defects  are  different. 
Mutual  intercourse  and  knowledge  cannot  fail  to  greatly  benefit 
both ;  each  can  learn  from  the  other ;  each  can  teach  much  to  the 
other,  and  each  can  contribute  greatly  to  the  development  and 
prosperity  of  the  other.  A  large  part  of  their  products  finds  no 
domestic  competition  here ;  a  large  part  of  our  products  will  find  no 
domestic  competition  there.  The  typical  conditions  exist  for  that 
kind  of  trade  which  is  profitable,  honorable,  and  beneficial  to  both 
parties. 

The  relations  between  the  United  States  and  South  America 
have  been  chiefly  political  rather  than  commercial  or  personal.  In 
the  early  days  of  the  South  American  struggle  for  independence, 
the  eloquence  of  Henry  Clay  awakened  in  the  American  people  a 
generous  sympathy  for  the  patriots  of  the  South  as  for  brethren 
struggling  in  the  common  cause  of  liberty.  The  clear-eyed,  judi- 
cious diplomacy  of  Richard  Rush,  the  American  Minister  at  the 
Court  of  St.  James,  effected  a  complete  understanding  w-ith  Great 
Britain  for  concurrent  action  in  opposition  to  the  designs  of  the 
Holy  Alliance,  already  contemplating  the  partition  of  the  Southern 
Continent  among  the  great  powers  of  continental  Europe.  The 
famous  declaration  of  Monroe  arrayed  the  organized  and  rapidly 
increasing  power  of  the  United  States  as  an  obstacle  to  European 
interference  and  made  it  forever  plain  that  the  cost  of  European  ag- 
gression would  be  greater  than  any  advantage  which  could  be  won 
even  by  successful  aggression. 

That  great  declaration  was  not  the  chance  expression  of  the 
opinion  or  the  feeling  of  the  moment ;  it  crystallized  the  sentiment 
for  human  liberty  and  human  rights  which  has  saved  American 
idealism  from  the  demoralization  of  narrow  selfishness,  and  has 
given  to  American  democracy  its  true  world  power  in  the  virile 
potency  of  a  great  example.  It  responded  to  the  instinct  of  self- 
preser\'ation  in  an  intensely  practical  people.  It  was  the  result  of 
conference  with  Jefferson  and  Madison  and  John  Quincy  Adams 


AN     AWAKENED     CONTINENT  341 

and  John  C.  Calhoun  and  William  Wirt — a  combination  of  political 
wisdom,  experience,  and  skill  not  easily  surpassed.  The  particular 
circumstances  which  led  to  the  declaration  no  longer  exist;  no  Holy 
Alliance  now  threatens  to  partition  South  America;  no  European 
colonization  of  the  west  coast  threatens  to  exclude  us  from  the 
Pacific.  But  those  conditions  were  merely  the  occasion  for  the 
declaration  of  a  principle  of  action. 

Other  occasions  for  the  application  of  the  principle  have  arisen 
since;  it  needs  no  prophetic  vision  to  see  that  other  occasions  for 
its  application  may  arise  hereafter.  The  principle  declared  by  Mon- 
roe is  as  wise  an  expression  of  sound  political  judgment  to-day,  as 
truthful  a  representation  of  the  sentiments  and  instincts  of  the 
American  people  to-day,  as  living  in  its  force  as  an  effective  rule 
of  conduct  whenever  occasion  shall  arise,  as  it  was  on  the  2d  of 
December,  1823. 

These  great  political  sei-vices  to  South  American  independence, 
however,  did  not  and  could  not  in  the  nature  of  things  create  any 
relation  between  the  people  of  South  America  and  the  people  of  the 
United  States  except  a  relation  of  political  sympathy. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  Mr.  Blaine,  sanguine,  resourceful,  and 
gifted  with  that  imagination  which  enlarges  the  historian's  under- 
standing of  the  past  into  the  statesman's  comprehension  of  the  future, 
undertook  to  inaugurate  a  new  era  of  American  relations  which 
should  supplement  political  sympathy  by  personal  acquaintance,  by 
the  intercourse  of  expanding  trade,  and  by  mutual  helpfulness.  As 
Secretary  of  State  under  President  Arthur,  he  invited  the  American 
nations  to  a  conference  to  be  held  on  the  24th  of  November,  1882, 
for  the  purpose  of  considering  and  discussing  the  subject  of  pre- 
venting war  between  the  nations  of  America.  That  invitation, 
abandoned  by  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  was  renewed  under  Mr.  Cleve- 
land, and  on  the  2d  of  October,  1889,  Mr.  Blaine,  again  Secretary 
of  State  under  President  Harrison,  had  the  singular  good  fortune 
to  execute  his  former  design  and  to  open  the  sessions  of  the  first 
American  Conference  at  Washington.  In  an  address  of  wisdom  and 
lofty  spirit,  which  should  ever  give  honor  to  his  memory,  he  de- 
scribed the  assembly  as — 

An  honorable,  peaceful  conference  of  seventeen  independent  American 
powers,  in  which  all  shall  meet  together  on  terms  of  absolute  equality;  a  con- 
ference in  which  there  can  be  no  attempt  to  coerce  a  single  delegate  against 
his  own  conception  of  the  interests  of  his  nation ;  a  conference  which  will 
permit  no  secret  understanding  on  any  subject,  but  will  frankly  publish  to  the 


342  SOUTH     AMERICA 

world  all  its  conclusions;  a  conference  which  will  tolerate  no  spirit  of  conquest, 
but  will  aim  to  cultivate  an  American  sympathy  as  broad  as  both  continents; 
a  conference  which  will  form  no  selfish  alliance  against  the  older  nations  from 
which  we  are  proud  to  claim  inheritance — a  conference,  in  fine,  which  will  seek 
nothing,  propose  nothing,  endure  nothing  that  is  not,  in  the  general  sense  of 
all  the  delegates,  timely,  wise  and  peaceful. 

The  policy  which  Blaine  inaugurated  has  been  continued;  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  has  approved  it;  subsequent  Presi- 
dents have  followed  it.  The  first  conference  at  Washington  has 
been  succeeded  by  a  second  conference  in  Mexico,  and  now  by  a 
third  conference  in  Rio  de  Janeiro ;  and  it  is  to  be  followed  in  years 
to  come  by  further  successive  assemblies  in  which  the  representatives 
of  all  American  States  shall  acquire  better  knowledge  and  more 
perfect  understanding  and  be  drawn  together  by  the  recognition  of 
common  interests  and  the  kindly  consideration  and  discussion  of 
measures  for  mutual  benefit. 

Nevertheless,  Mr.  Blaine  was  in  advance  of  his  time.  In  1881 
and  1889  neither  had  the  United  States  reached  a  point  where  it 
could  turn  its  energies  away  from  its  own  internal  development 
and  direct  them  outward  toward  the  development  of  foreign  en- 
terprises and  foreign  trade,  nor  had  the  South  American  countries 
reached  the  stage  of  stability  in  government  and  security  for 
property  necessary  to  their  industrial  development. 

Now,  however,  the  time  has  come ;  both  North  and  South 
America  have  grown  up  to  Blaine's  policy;  the  production,  the 
trade,  the  capital,  the  enterprise  of  the  United  States  have  before 
them  the  opportunity  to  follow,  and  they  are  free  to  follow,  the 
pathway  marked  out  by  the  far-sighted  statesmanship  of  Blaine  for 
the  growth  of  America,  North  and  South,  in  the  peaceful  prosperity 
of  a  mighty  commerce. 

To  utilize  this  opportunity  certain  practical  things  must  be 
done.  For  the  most  part  these  things  must  be  done  by  a  multitude 
of  individual  efforts ;  they  cannot  be  done  by  government.  Govern- 
ment may  help  to  furnish  facilities  for  the  doing  of  them,  but  the 
facilities  will  be  useless  unless  used  by  individuals;  they  cannot  be 
done  by  resolutions  of  this  or  any  other  commercial  body;  resolu- 
tions are  useless  unless  they  stir  individual  business  men  to  action 
in  their  own  business  affairs.  The  things  needed  have  been  fully 
and  specifically  set  forth  in  many  reports  of  efficient  consuls  and  of 
highly  competent  agents  of  the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor, 
and  they  have  been  described  in  countless  newspapers  and  magazine 


AN     AWAKENED     CONTINENT  343 

articles ;  but  all  these  things  are  worthless  unless  they  are  followed 
by  individual  action.  I  will  indicate  some  of  the  matters  to  which 
every  producer  and  merchant  who  desires  South  American  trade 
should  pay  attention : 

1.  He  should  learn  what  the  South  Americans  want  and  con- 
form his  product  to  their  wants.  If  they  think  they  need  heavy 
castings,  he  should  give  them  heavy  castings  and  not  expect  them 
to  buy  light  ones  because  he  thinks  they  are  better.  If  they  want 
coarse  cottons,  he  should  give  them  coarse  cottons  and  not  expect 
them  to  buy  fine  cottons.  It  may  not  pay  to-day,  but  it  will  pay 
to-morrow.  The  tendency  to  standardize  articles  of  manufacture 
may  reduce  the  cost  and  promote  convenience,  but  if  the  consumers 
on  the  River  Plate  demand  a  different  standard  from  the  consumers 
on  the  Mississippi,  you  must  have  two  standards  or  lose  one  market, 

2.  Both  for  the  purpose  of  learning  what  the  South  American 
people  want  and  of  securing  their  attention  to  your  goods,  you 
must  have  agents  who  speak  the  Spanish  or  Portuguese  language. 
For  this  there  are  two  reasons :  one  is  that  people  can  seldom  really 
get  at  each  other's  minds  through  an  interpreter,  and  the  other  is 
that  nine  times  out  of  ten  it  is  only  through  knowing  the  Spanish 
or  Portuguese  language  that  a  North  American  comes  to  appreciate 
the  admirable  and  attractive  personal  qualities  of  the  South  Ameri- 
can, and  is  thus  able  to  establish  that  kindly  and  agreeable  personal 
relation  which  is  so  potent  in  leading  to  business  relations. 

3.  The  American  producer  should  arrange  to  conform  his 
credit  system  to  that  prevailing  in  the  country  where  he  wishes 
to  sell  goods.  There  is  no  more  money  lost  upon  commercial  credits 
in  South  America  than  there  is  in  North  America;  but  business 
men  there  have  their  own  ways  of  doing  business;  they  have  to 
adapt  the  credits  they  receive  to  the  credits  they  give.  It  is  often 
inconvenient,  disagreeable,  and  sometimes  impossible  for  them  to 
conform  to  our  ways,  and  the  requirement  that  they  should  do  so 
is  a  serious  obstacle  to  trade. 

To  understand  credits  it  is,  of  course,  necessary  to  know  some- 
thing about  the  character,  trustworthiness,  and  commercial  standing 
of  the  purchaser,  and  the  American  producer  or  merchant  who 
would  sell  goods  in  South  America  must  have  some  means  of 
knowledge  upon  this  subject.  This  leads  naturally  to  the  next 
observation  I  have  to  make. 

4.  The  establishment  of  banks  should  be  brought  about.     The 


S44  S  0  U  T  H     A  M  E  R  I  C  A 

Americans  already  engaged  in  South  American  trade  could  well 
afford  to  subscribe  the  capital  and  establish  an  American  bank  in 
each  of  the  principal  cities  of  South  America.  This  is,  first,  because 
nothing  but  very  bad  management  could  prevent  such  a  bank  from 
making  money;  capital  is  much  needed  in  those  cities,  and  six, 
eight  and  ten  per  cent,  can  be  obtained  for  money  upon  just  as  safe 
security  as  can  be  had  in  Kansas  City,  St.  Louis,  or  New  York. 
It  is  also  because  the  American  bank  would  furnish  a  source  of 
information  as  to  the  standing  of  the  South  American  purchasers 
to  whom  credit  may  be  extended,  and  because  American  banks 
would  relieve  American  business  in  South  America  from  the  dis- 
advantage which  now  exists  of  making  all  its  financial  transactions 
through  Europe  instead  of  directly  with  the  United  States.  It  is 
unfortunately  true  that  among  hundreds  of  thousands  of  possible 
customers  the  United  States  now  stands  in  a  position  of  assumed 
financial  and  business  inferiority  to  the  countries  through  whose 
banking  houses  all  its  business  has  to  be  done. 

5.  The  American  merchant  should  himself  acquire,  if  he  has 
not  already  done  so,  and  should  impress  upon  all  his  agents,  that 
respect  for  the  South  American  to  which  he  is  justly  entitled  and 
which  is  the  essential  requisite  to  respect  from  the  South  American. 
We  are  different  in  many  ways  as  to  character  and  methods.  In 
dealing  with  all  foreign  people  it  is  important  to  avoid  the  narrow 
and  uninstructed  prejudice  which  assumes  that  difference  from  our- 
selves denotes  inferiority.  There  is  nothing  that  we  resent  so 
quickly  as  an  assumption  of  superiority  or  evidence  of  condescension 
in  foreigners ;  there  is  nothing  that  the  South  Americans  resent  so 
quickly.  The  South  Americans  are  our  superiors  in  some  respects ; 
we  are  their  superiors  in  other  respects.  We  should  show  to  them 
what  is  best  in  us  and  see  what  is  best  in  them.  Every  agent  of  an 
American  producer  or  merchant  should  be  instructed  that  courtesy, 
politeness,  kindly  consideration  are  essential  requisites  for  success 
in  the  South  American  trade. 

6.  The  investment  of  American  capital  in  South  America  under 
the  direction  of  American  experts  should  be  promoted,  not  merely 
upon  simple  investment  grounds,  but  as  a  means  of  creating  and 
enlarging  trade.  For  simple  investment  purposes  the  opportunities 
are  innumerable.  Good  business  judgment  and  good  business  man- 
agement will  be  necessary  there,  of  course,  as  they  are  necessary 
here ;  but  given  these,  I  believe  that  there  is  a  vast  number  of  enter- 


AN     AWAKENED     CONTINENT  345 

prises  awaiting  capital  in  the  more  advanced  countries  of  South 
America,  capable  of  yielding  great  profits,  and  in  which  the  property 
and  the  profits  will  be  as  safe  as  in  the  United  States  or  Canada. 

A  good  many  such  enterprises  are  already  begun.  I  have 
found  a  graduate  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  a 
graduate  of  the  Columbia  School  of  Mines,  and  a  graduate  of  Col- 
onel RooseNclt's  Rough  Riders  smelting  copper  close  under  the 
snow  line  of  the  Andes;  I  have  ridden  in  an  American  car  upon 
an  American  electric  road,  built  by  a  New  York  engineer,  in  the 
heart  of  the  coffee  region  of  Brazil,  and  I  have  seen  the  waters  of 
that  river  along  which  Pizarro  established  his  line  of  communica- 
tion in  the  conquest  of  Peru  harnessed  to  American  machinery  to 
make  light  and  power  for  the  city  of  Lima.  Every  such  point  is 
the  nucleus  of  American  trade — the  source  of  orders  for  American 
goods. 

7.  It  is  absolutely  essential  that  the  means  of  communication 
between  the  two  countries  should  be  improved  and  increased. 

This  underlies  all  other  considerations  and  it  applies  both  to 
the  mail,  the  passenger,  and  the  freight  services.  Between  all  the 
principal  South  American  ports  and  England,  Germany,  France, 
Spain,  Italy,  lines  of  swift  and  commodious  steamers  ply  regularly. 
There  are  five  subsidized  first-class  mail  and  passenger  lines  between 
Buenos  Ayres  and  Europe;  there  is  no  such  line  between  Buenos 
Ayres  and  the  United  States.  Within  the  past  two  years  the  Ger- 
man, the  English,  and  the  Italian  lines  have  been  replacing  their 
old  steamers  with  new  and  swifter  steamers  of  modern  construction, 
accommodation,  and  capacity. 

In  the  year  ending  June  30,  1905,  there  entered  the  port  of 
Rio  de  Janeiro  steamers  and  sailing  vessels  flying  the  flag  of 
Austria-Hungary  120,  of  Norway  142,  of  Italy  165,  of  Argentina 
264,  of  France  349,  of  Germany  657,  of  Great  Britain  1,785,  of 
the  United  States  no  steamers  and  seven  sailing  vessels,  two  of 
which  were  in  distress! 

An  English  firm  runs  a  small  steamer  monthly  between  New 
York  and  Rio  de  Janeiro;  the  Panama  Railroad  Company  runs 
steamers  between  New  York  and  the  Isthmus  of  Panama;  the 
Brazilians  are  starting  for  themselves  a  line  between  Rio  and  New 
York;  there  are  two  or  three  foreign  concerns  running  slow  cargo 
boats,  and  there  are  some  foreign  tramp  steamers.  That  is  the 
sum  total  of  American  communications  with  South  America  beyond 


346  SOUTH     AMERICA 

the  Caribbean  Sea.  Not  one  American  steamship  runs  to  any- 
South  American  port  beyond  the  Caribbean.  During  the  past 
summer  I  entered  the  ports  of  Para,  Pernambuco,  Bahia,  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  Santos,  Montevideo,  Buenos  Ayres,  Bahia  Blanca,  Punta 
Arenas,  Lota,  Valparaiso,  Coquimbo,  Tocopilla,  Callao,  and  Cartha- 
gena — all  of  the  great  ports  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  secondary 
ports  of  the  Southern  Continent.  I  saw  only  one  ship,  besides  the 
cruiser  that  carried  me,  flying  the  American  flag. 

The  mails  between  South  America  and  Europe  are  swift,  regu- 
lar, and  certain ;  between  South  America  and  the  United  States  they 
are  slow,  irregular,  and  uncertain.  Six  weeks  is  not  an  uncommon 
time  for  a  letter  to  take  between  Buenos  Ayres  or  Valparaiso  and 
New  York  The  merchant  who  wishes  to  order  American  goods 
cannot  know  when  his  order  will  be  received  or  when  it  will  be 
filled. 

The  freight  charges  between  the  South  American  cities  and 
American  cities  are  generally  and  substantially  higher  than  between 
the  same  cities  and  Europe ;  at  many  points  the  deliveries  of  freight 
are  uncertain  and  its  condition  upon  arrival  doubtful. 

The  passenger  accommodations  are  such  as  to  make  a  journey 
to  the  United  States  a  trial  to  be  endured  and  a  journey  to  Europe 
a  pleasure  to  be  enjoyed.  The  best  way  to  travel  between  the 
United  States  and  both  the  southwest  coast  and  the  east  coast  of 
South  America  is  to  go  by  way  of  Europe,  crossing  the  Atlantic 
twice.  It  is  impossible  that  trade  should  prosper  or  intercourse 
increase  or  mutual  knowledge  grow  to  any  great  degree  under  such 
circumstances.  The  communication  is  worse  now  than  it  was 
twenty-five  years  ago.  So  long  as  it  is  left  in  the  hands  of  our 
foreign  competitors  in  business  we  cannot  reasonably  look  for  any 
improvement.  It  is  only  reasonable  to  expect  that  European  steam- 
ship lines  shall  be  so  managed  as  to  promote  European  trade  in 
South  America  rather  than  to  promote  the  trade  of  the  United 
States  in  South  America. 

This  woeful  deficiency  in  the  means  to  carry  on  and  enlarge 
our  South  American  trade  is  but  a  part  of  the  general  decline  and 
feebleness  of  the  American  merchant  marine,  which  has  reduced 
us  from  carrying  over  ninety  per  cent,  of  our  export  trade  in  our 
own  ships  to  the  carriage  of  nine  per  cent,  of  that  trade  in  our  own 
ships  and  dependence  upon  foreign  ship-owners  for  the  carriage  of 
ninety-one  per  cent.    The  true  remedy  and  the  only  remedy  is  the 


AN     AWAKENED     CONTINENT  847 

establishment  of  American  lines  of  steamships  between  the  United 
States  and  the  great  ports  of  South  America  adequate  to  render 
fully  as  good  service  as  is  now  afforded  by  the  European  lines 
between  those  ports  and  Europe.  The  substantial  underlying  fact 
was  well  stated  in  the  resolution  of  this  Trans-Mississippi  Congress 
three  years  ago : 

That  every  ship  is  a  missionary  of  trade;  that  steamship  lines  work  for 
their  own  countries  just  as  railroad  lines  work  for  their  terminal  points,  and 
that  it  is  as  absurd  for  the  United  States  to  depend  upon  foreign  ships  to 
distribute  its  products  as  it  would  be  for  a  department  store  to  depend  upon 
wagons  of  a  competing  house  to  deliver  its  goods. 

How  can  this  defect  be  remedied  ?  The  answer  to  this  question 
must  be  found  by  ascertaining  the  cause  of  the  decline  of  our 
merchant  marine.  Why  is  it  that  Americans  have  substantially 
retired  from  the  foreign  transport  service?  We  are  a  nation  of 
maritime  traditions  and  facility;  we  are  a  nation  of  constructive 
capacity,  competent  to  build  ships;  we  are  eminent,  if  not  preemi- 
nent, in  the  construction  of  machinery;  we  have  abundant  capital 
seeking  investment ;  we  have  courage  and  enterprise,  shrinking  from 
no  competition  in  any  field  which  we  choose  to  enter.  Why,  then, 
have  we  retired  from  this  field,  in  which  we  were  once  conspicu- 
ously successful? 

I  think  the  answer  is  twofold. 

I.  The  higher  wages  and  the  greater  cost  of  maintenance  of 
American  officers  and  crews  make  it  impossible  to  compete  on 
equal  terms  with  foreign  ships.  The  scale  of  living  and  the  scale 
of  pay  of  American  sailors  are  fixed  by  the  standard  of  wages  and 
of  living  in  the  United  States,  and  those  are  maintained  at  a  high 
level  by  the  protective  tariff.  The  moment  the  American  passes 
beyond  the  limits  of  his  country  and  engages  in  ocean  transporta- 
tion he  comes  into  competition  with  the  lower  foreign  scale  of 
wages  and  of  living.  Mr.  Joseph  L.  Bristow,  in  his  report  upon 
trade  conditions  affecting  the  Panama  Railroad,  dated  June  14, 
1905,  gives  in  detail  the  cost  of  operating  an  American  steamship 
with  a  tonnage  of  approximately  thirty-five  hundred  tons  as  com- 
pared with  the  cost  of  operating  a  specified  German  steamship  of 
the  same  tonnage,  and  the  differences  aggregate  $15,315  per  annum 
greater  cost  for  the  American  steamship  than  for  the  German,  that 
is  $4.37  per  ton.  He  gives  also  in  detail  the  cost  of  maintaining 
another  American  steamship  with  a  tonnage   of   approximately 


348  SOUTH     AMERICA 

twenty-five  hundred  tons  as  compared  with  the  cost  of  operating  a 
specified  British  steamship  of  tliie  same  tonnage,  and  the  differences 
aggregate  $18,289.68  per  annum  greater  cost  for  the  American 
steamship  than  for  the  British,  that  is  $7.31  per  ton.  It  is  manifest 
that  if  the  German  steamship  were  content  with  a  profit  of  less  than 
815,000  per  annum,  and  the  British  with  a  profit  of  less  than  $18,- 
000  per  annum,  the  .\merican  ships  would  have  to  go  out  of  business. 

2.  The  principal  maritime  nations  of  the  world,  anxious  to 
develop  their  trade,  to  promote  their  shipbuilding  industry,  to  have 
at  hand  transports  and  auxiliary  cruisers  in  case  of  war,  are  fostering 
their  steamship  lines  by  the  payment  of  subsidies.  England  is 
paying  to  her  steamship  lines  between  six  and  seven  million  dollars 
a  year;  it  is  estimated  that  since  1840  she  has  paid  to  them  betw-een 
two  hundred  and  fifty  and  three  hundred  millions.  The  enormous 
development  of  her  commerce,  her  preponderant  share  of  the  car- 
rying trade  of  the  world,  and  her  shipyards  crowded  with  con- 
struction orders  from  every  part  of  the  earth,  indicate  the  success 
of  her  policy.  France  is  paying  about  eight  million  dollars  a  year; 
Italy  and  Japan,  between  three  and  four  millions  each ;  Germany, 
upon  the  initiative  of  Bismarck,  is  building  up  her  trade  with  won- 
derful rapidity  by  heavy  subventions  to  her  steamship  lines  and  by 
giving  special  differential  rates  of  carriage  over  her  railroads  for 
merchandise  shipped  by  those  lines.  Spain,  Norway,  Austria-Hun- 
gary, Canada,  all  subsidize  their  own  lines.  It  is  estimated  that 
about  $28,000,000  a  year  are  paid  by  our  commercial  competitors 
to  their  steamship  lines. 

Against  these  advantages  to  his  competitor  the  American  ship 
owner  has  to  contend;  and  it  is  manifest  that  the  subsidized  ship 
can  afford  to  carry  freight  at  cost  for  a  long  enough  period  to 
drive  him  out  of  business. 

We  are  living  in  a  world  not  of  natural  competition,  but  of 
subsidized  competition.  State  aid  to  steamship  lines  is  as  much  a 
part  of  the  commercial  system  of  our  day  as  state  employment  of 
consuls  to  promote  business. 

It  will  be  observed  that  both  of  these  disadvantages  under  which 
the  American  ship  owner  labors  are  artificial;  they  are  created  by 
governmental  action — one  by  our  own  government  in  raising  the 
standard  of  wages  and  living,  by  the  protective  tariff,  the  other 
by  foreign  governments  in  paying  subsidies  to  their  ships  for  the 
promotion  of  their  own  trade.     For  the  American  ship  owner  it 


AN     AWAKENED     CONTINENT  349 

is  not  a  contest  of  intelligence,  skill,  industry,  and  thrift  against 
similar  qualities  in  his  competitor;  it  is  a  contest  against  his  com- 
petitors and  his  competitors'  governments  and  his  own  government 
also. 

Plainly  these  disadvantages  created  by  governmental  action 
can  be  neutralized  only  by  governmental  action,  and  should  be 
neutralized  by  such  action. 

What  action  ought  our  Government  to  take  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this  just  purpose?  Three  kinds  of  action  have  been  advo- 
cated. 

1.  A  law  providing  for  free  ships — that  Is,  permitting  Ameri- 
cans to  buy  ships  in  other  countries  and  bring  them  under  the 
American  flag.  Plainly  this  would  not  at  all  meet  the  difficulties 
which  I  have  described.  The  only  thing  it  would  accomplish  would 
be  to  overcome  the  excess  in  cost  of  building  a  ship  in  an  American 
shipyard  'over  the  cost  of  building  it  in  a  foreign  shipyard ;  but  since 
all  the  materials  which  enter  into  an  American  ship  are  entirely 
relieved  of  duty,  the  difference  in  cost  of  construction  is  so  slight 
as  to  be  practically  a  negligible  quantity  and  to  afford  no  substantial 
obstacle  to  the  revival  of  American  shipping.  The  expedient  of 
free  ships,  therefore,  would  be  merely  to  sacrifice  our  American 
ship-building  industry,  which  ought  to  be  revived  and  enlarged  with 
American  shipping,  and  to  sacrifice  it  without  receiving  any  sub- 
stantial benefit.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  Germany,  France,  and 
Italy  all  have  attempted  to  build  up  their  own  shipping  by  adopting 
the  policy  of  free  ships,  have  failed  in  the  experiment,  have  aban- 
doned it,  and  have  adopted  in  its  place  the  policy  of  subsidy. 

2.  It  has  been  proposed  to  establish  a  discriminating  tariff  duty 
in  favor  of  goods  imported  in  American  ships,  that  is  to  say,  to 
impose  higher  duties  upon  goods  imported  in  foreign  ships  than  are 
imposed  on  goods  imported  in  American  ships.  We  tried  that  once 
many  years  ago  and  have  abandoned  it.  In  its  place  we  have  en- 
tered into  treaties  of  commerce  and  navigation  with  the  principal 
countries  of  the  world  expressly  agreeing  that  no  such  discrimination 
shall  be  made  between  their  vessels  and  ours.  To  sweep  away  all 
those  treaties  and  enter  upon  a  war  of  commercial  retaliation  and 
reprisal  for  the  sake  of  accomplishing  indirectly  what  can  be  done 
directly  should  not  be  seriously  considered. 

3.  There  remains  the  third  and  obvious  method:  To  neutralize 
the  artificial  disadvantages  imposed  upon  American  shipping  through 


350  SOUTH     AMERICA 

the  action  of  our  own  government  and  foreign  governments  by  an 
equivalent  advantage  in  the  form  of  a  subsidy  or  subvention.  In 
my  opinion  this  is  what  should  be  done ;  it  is  the  sensible  and  fair 
thing  to  do.  It  is  what  must  be  done  if  we  would  have  a  revival 
of  our  shipping  and  the  desired  development  of  our  foreign  trade. 
We  cannot  repeal  the  protective  tariff ;  no  political  party  dreams  of 
repealing  it;  we  do  not  wish  to  lower  the  standard  of  American 
living  or  American  wages.  We  should  give  back  to  the  ship 
owner  what  we  take  away  from  him  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining 
that  standard ;  and  unless  we  do  give  it  back,  we  shall  continue  to 
go  without  ships.  How  can  the  expenditure  of  public  money  for 
the  improvemerit  of  rivers  and  harbors  to  promote  trade  be  justified 
upon  any  grounds  which  do  not  also  sustain  this  proposal?  Would 
anyone  reverse  the  policy  that  granted  aid  to  the  Pacific  railroads, 
the  pioneers  of  our  enormous  internal  commerce,  the  agencies  that 
built  up  the  great  traffic  which  has  enabled  half  a  dozen  other  roads 
to  be  built  in  later  years  without  assistance?  Such  subventions 
would  not  be  gifts.  They  would  be  at  once  compensation  for  injuries 
inflicted  upon  American  shipping  by  American  laws  and  the  consid- 
eration for  benefits  received  by  the  whole  American  people — not 
the  shippers  or  the  ship-builders  or  the  sailors  alone,  but  by  every 
manufacturer,  every  miner,  every  farmer,  every  merchant  whose 
prosperity  depends  upon  a  market  for  his  products. 

The  provision  for  such  just  compensation  should  be  carefully 
shaped  and  directed  so  that  it  w'ill  go  to  individual  advantage  only 
so  far  as  the  individual  is  enabled  by  it  to  earn  a  reasonable  profit 
by  building  up  the  business  of  the  country. 

A  bill  is  now  pending  in  Congress  which  contains  such  pro- 
visions: it  has  passed  the  Senate  and  is  now  before  the  House 
Committee  on  Merchant  Marine  and  Fisheries;  it  is  known  a.b 
Senate  Bill  No.  529,  Fifty-ninth  Congress,  first  session.  It  pro- 
vides specifically  that  the  Postmaster-General  may  pay  to  American 
steamships,  of  specified  rates  of  speed,  carrying  mails  upon  a  regular 
service,  compensation  not  to  exceed  the  following  amounts:  For 
a  line  from  an  Atlantic  port  to  Brazil,  monthly,  $150,000  a  year; 
for  a  line  from  an  Atlantic  port  to  Uruguay  and  Argentina,  monthly, 
v$i87,5oo  a  >-€ar;  for  a  line  from  a  Gulf  port  to  Brazil,  monthly, 
•*?^i37oOO  a  year;  for  a  line  from  each  of  two  Gulf  ports  and  from 
New  Orleans  to  Central  America  and  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
weekly,  $75,000  a  year;  for  a  line  from  a  Gulf  port  to  Mexico, 


AN     AWAKENED     CONTINENT  351 

weekly,  $50,000  a  year;  for  a  line  from  a  Pacific  Coast  port  to 
Mexico,  Central  America,  and  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  fortnightly, 
$120,000  a  year.  For  these  six  regular  lines  a  total  of  $720,000. 
The  payments  provided  are  no  more  than  enough  to  give  the  Ameri- 
can ships  a  fair  living  chance  in  the  competition. 

There  are  other  wise  and  reasonable  provisions  in  the  bill 
relating  to  trade  with  the  Orient,  to  tramp  steamers  and  to  a 
naval  reserve,  but  I  am  now  concerned  with  the  provisions  for  trade 
to  the  South.  The  hope  of  such  a  trade  lies  chiefly  in  the  passage 
of  that  bill. 

Postmaster-General  Cortelyou,  in  his  report  for  1905,  said: 

Congress  has  authorized  the  Postmaster-General,  by  the  act  of  1891,  to 
contract  with  the  owners  of  American  steamships  for  ocean  mail  service  and  has 
realized  the  impracticability  of  commanding  suitable  steamships  in  the  interest 
of  the  postal  service  alone  by  requiring  that  such  steamers  shall  be  of  a  size, 
class,  and  equipment  which  will  promote  commerce  and  become  available  as 
auxiliary  cruisers  of  the  Navy  in  case  of  need.  The  compensation  allowed  to 
such  steamers  is  found  to  be  wholly  inadequate  to  secure  the  proposals  con- 
templated ;  hence  advertisements  from  time  to  time  have  failed  to  develop  any 
bids  for  much-needed  service.  This  is  especially  true  in  regard  to  several  of 
the  countries  of  South  America  with  which  we  have  cordial  relations  and 
which,  for  manifest  reasons,  should  have  direct  mail  connections  with  us.  I 
refer  to  Brazil  and  countries  south  of  it.  Complaints  of  serious  delay  to  mails 
for  these  countries  have  become  frequent  and  emphatic,  leading  to  the  sug- 
gestion on  the  part  of  certain  officials  of  the  government  that  for  the  present, 
and  until  more  satisfactory  direct  communication  can  be  established,  important 
mails  should  be  dispatched  to  South  America  by  way  of  European  ports  and 
on  European  steamers,  which  would  not  only  involve  the  United  States  in  the 
payment  of  double  transit  rates  to  a  foreign  country  for  the  dispatch  of  its 
mails  to  countries  of  our  own  hemisphere,  but  might  seriously  embarrass  the 
government  in  the  exchange  of  important  official  and  diplomatic  correspondence. 

The  fact  that  the  Government  claims  exclusive  control  of  the  transmission 
of  letter  mail  throughout  its  own  territory  would  seem  to  imply  that  it  should 
secure  and  maintain  the  exclusive  jurisdiction,  when  necessary,  of  its  mails  on 
the  high  seas.  The  unprecedented  expansion  of  trade  and  foreign  commerce 
justifies  prompt  consideration  of  an  adequate  foreign  mail  service. 

It  is  difficult  to  believe,  but  it  is  true,  that  out  of  this  faulty 
ocean  mail  service  the  Government  of  the  United  States  is  making 
a  large  profit.  The  actual  cost  to  the  Government  last  year  of  the 
ocean  mail  service  to  foreign  countries  other  than  Canada  and 
Mexico  was  $2,965,624.21,  while  the  proceeds  realized  by  the 
Government  from  postage  between  the  United  States  and  foreign 
countries  other  than  Canada  and  Mexico  was  $6,008,807.53,  leaving 
the  profit  to  the  United  States  of  $3,043,183.32;  that  is  to  say. 


352  SOUTH    AMERICA 

under  existing  law  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  having 
assumed  the  monopoly  of  carrying  the  mails  for  the  people  of  the 
country,  is  making  a  profit  of  $3,000,000  per  annum  by  rendering 
cheap  and  inefficient  service.  Every  dollar  of  that  three  millions  is 
made  at  the  expense  of  the  commerce  of  the  United  States.  What 
can  be  plainer  than  that  the  government  ought  to  expend  at  least 
the  profits  that  it  gets  from  the  ocean  mail  service  in  making  the 
ocean  mail  service  efficient.  One-quarter  of  those  profits  v^ould 
establish  all  these  lines  which  I  have  described  between  the  United 
States  and  South  and  Central  America  and  give  us,  besides  a  good 
mail  service,  enlarged  markets  for  the  producers  and  merchants  of 
the  United  States  who  pay  the  postage  from  which  the  profits 
come." 

In  his  last  message  to  Congress,  President  Roosevelt  said: 

To  the  spread  of  our  trade  in  peace  and  the  defense  of  our  flag  in  war 
a  great  and  prosperous  merchant  marine  is  indispensable.  We  should  have 
ships  of  our  own  and  seamen  of  our  own  to  convey  our  goods  to  neutral 
markets,  and  in  case  of  need  to  reenforce  our  battle  line.  It  cannot  but  be  a 
source  of  regret  and  uneasiness  to  us  that  the  lines  of  communication  with 
our  sister  republics  of  South  America  should  be  chiefly  under  foreign  control. 
It  is  not  a  good  thing  that  American  merchants  and  manufacturers  should  have 
to  send  their  goods  and  letters  to  South  America  via  Europe  if  they  wish 
security  and  dispatch.  Even  on  the  Pacific,  where  our  ships  have  held  their 
own  better  than  on  the  Atlantic,  our  merchant  flag  is  now  threatened  through 
the  liberal  aid  bestowed  by  other  governments  on  their  own  steam  lines.  I  ask 
your  earnest  consideration  of  the  report  with  which  the  Merchant  Marine  Com- 
mission has  followed  its  long  and  careful  inquiry. 

The  bill  ^  now  pending  in  the  House  is  a  bill  framed  upon 
the  report  of  that  Merchant  Marine  Commission.  The  question 
whether  it  shall  become  a  law  depends  upon  your  Representatives 
in  the  House.  You  have  the  judgment  of  the  Postmaster-General, 
you  have  the  judgment  of  the  Senate,  you  have  the  judgment  of 
the  President;  if  you  agree  with  these  judgments  and  wish  the 
bill  which  embodies  them  to  become  a  law,  say  so  to  your  Repre- 
sentatives.    Say  it  to  them  individually  and  directly,  for  it  is  your 

-There  would  be  some  modification  of  these  figures  if  the  cost  of  getting 
the  mails  to  and  from  the  exchange  offices  were  charged  against  the  account; 
but  this  is  not  separable  from  the  general  domestic  cost  and  would  not  materially 
change  the  result. 

3  This  bill  passed  the  House  in  a  much  mutilated  condition,  but  the  revised 
form  failed  when  brought  before  the  Senate  on  the  closing  day  of  the  Session, 
March  4,  1007.— Editor. 


AN     AWAKENED     CONTINENT  353 

right  to  advise  them  and  it  will  be  their  pleasure  to  hear  from  you 
what  legislation  the  interests  of  their  constituents  demand. 

The  great  body  of  Congressmen  are  always  sincerely  desirous 
to  meet  the  just  wishes  of  their  constituents  and  to  do  what  is  for 
the  public  interest;  but  in  this  great  country  they  are  continually 
assailed  by  innumerable  expressions  of  private  opinion  and  by 
innumerable  demands  for  the  expenditure  of  public  money;  they 
come  to  discriminate  very  clearly  between  private  opinion  and 
public  opinion  and  between  real  public  opinion  and  the  manufactured 
appearance  of  public  opinion ;  they  know  that  when  there  is  a  real 
demand  for  any  kind  of  legislation  it  will  make  itself  known  to  them 
through  a  multitude  of  individual  voices.  Resolutions  of  com- 
mercial bodies  frequently  indicate  nothing  except  that  the  proposer 
of  the  resolution  has  a  positive  opinion  and  that  no  one  else  has 
interest  enough  in  the  subject  to  oppose  it.  Such  resolutions  by 
themselves,  therefore,  have  comparatively  little  effect;  they  are 
effective  only  when  the  support  of  individual  expressions  shows 
that  they  really  represent  a  genuine  and  general  opinion. 

It  is  for  you  and  the  business  men  all  over  the  country  whom 
you  represent  to  show  to  the  Representatives  in  Congress  that  the 
producing  and  commercial  interests  of  the  country  really  desire  a 
practical  measure  to  enlarge  the  markets  and  increase  the  foreign 
trade  of  the  United  States  by  enabling  American  shipping  to  over- 
come the  disadvantages  imposed  upon  it  by  foreign  governments 
for  the  benefit  of  their  trade  and  by  our  government  for  the  benefit 
of  our  home  industry. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


THE   ABORIGINES 

Lamed,   J.    N. — "Literature   of   American    History,    a   Bibliographical    Guide." 
Boston,  1902. 
Contains    critical    notes    of    the    literature    of    American    archaeology    and 
anthropology    (pp.  32-50).     In  addition  to  the   works  there  noted  see  the 
following : 
Winsor,  Justin,   ed. — "  Aboriginal   America  "    ("  Narrative   and   Critical   History 
of  America,"  Vol.  I).     Boston,  1889. 
Contains  essays  by  the  editor  on  Mexico  and  Central  America  and  "  The 
Progress  of  Opinion  Respecting  the  Antiquity  of  Man  in   America " ;   and 
by  Clements  R.  Markham  on  "  The  Inca  Civilization  in  Peru,"  with  critical 
bibliographical  notes  of  great  value. 
Farrand,    Livingston. — "Basis    of    American    History,    1500-1900"     (American 
Nation,"  Vol.  II).     New  York,  1904. 
Chiefly  concerned  with  North  America.     Contains  valuable  critical  essay  on 
the  authorities. 
Boston      Public     Library. — "  America     before      Columbus " ;      "  Pre-Columbian 
Visits";  "Mexican  Civilization";  "Peruvian  Civilization"   (in  Bulletins, 
1875-1878,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  65-69). 
Critical  lists  of  the  literature  on  these  subjects  in  the  library. 
Larned's   "Literature  of   American   History"    (cited   above),   contains   in    Part 
VI.,  "  Spanish  and  Portuguese  America  and  the  West  Indies." 
Critical  bibliographical  notes,  some  of  which   relate  to  the  pre-Columbian 
period,  prepared  by  George  Parker  Winship. 

In  addition  to  the  works  noted  in  the  bibliographies  above  mentioned,  the 
following  may  be  noted : 

Dellenbaugh,  Frederick  S. — "  North  Americans  of  Yesterday."    New  York,  1901. 

Helmott,   Hans  Ferdinand,   ed. — "History  of  the  World:    a   Survey   of  Man's 
Record."    Vol.  I.     New  York,  1902. 
Contains  400  pages  on  America,   including  aboriginal  culture  and  history, 
Spanish  colonial  history,  and  Spanish-American  history. 


DISCOVERY   AND   CONQUEST 

Bourne,  Edward  Gaylord. — "Spain  in  America,  1450-1580"  ("American  Na- 
tion," Vol.  HI). 
Summarizes  the  results  of  the  best  scholarship  on  the  Spanish  discoveries, 
explorations,  colonial  system,  and  the  transmission  of  Spanish  culture  to 
America.  Spanish  achievement  in  all  lines  is  represented  in  a  highly 
favorable  light.     Valuable  and  exhaustive  critical  essay  on  the  authorities. 

3oT 


358  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Lamed,  J.  N.,  ed.— "  Literature  of  American  History.    European  Discovery  and 
Early  Exploration"   (pp.  50-68),  prepared  by  E.  G.  Bourne. 
Critical  bibliographical  notes  of  great  value  by  Professor  E.   G.   Bourne. 
See  also  Part  VI.  by  G.  P.  Winship  (noted  above). 
Winsor,    Justin.— "  Narrative    and    Critical    History    of    America,"    Vol.    IL: 
"  Spanish  Explorations  and  Settlements." 
Essays  by  special  students,  with  valuable  bibliographical  notes. 

The  following  titles  are  given  in  addition  to  those  mentioned  in  Larned, 
Bourne,  and  Winsor. 

"Cambridge  Modern  History,"  Vol.  I:  "The  Renaissance."  New  York,  1902. 
Contains  two  chapters  by  E.  J.  Paine  on  "The  Age  of  Discovery"  and 
"The  New  World,"  describing  the  course  of  exploration  and  the  begin- 
nings of  Spanish  dominion. 

"  Coleccion  de  libros  y  documentos  referentes  a  la  historia  de  America."   Vols.  I.- 
ni.     Madrid,    1904. 

Garcia,  Genaro. — "  Caracter  de  la  conquista  Espanola  en  America  y  en  Mexico 
segun  los  textos  de  los  historiadores  primitivos."    Mexico,  1901. 

Stevenson,    Edward    Luther. — "  Maps,    Illustrating    Early    Discovery    and    Ex- 
ploration in  America,  1502-1530."     New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  1903-1905. 
Photographic  reproductions  of  12  maps  of  great  value  and  importance. 

Vignaud,  Henry. — "  Toscanelli  and  Columbus."     New  York,  1902. 

"  Critical  Study  of  the  Various  Dates  Assigned  to  the  Birth  of  Christopher 

Columbus."     London,   1903. 

•■ "Etudes  Critiques  sur  la  vie  de  Colomh  avant  ses  decouvertes."    Paris,  1905. 

Mr.  Vignaud  writes  in  depreciation  of  Columbus,  finding  him  guilty  of 
falsehood  as  to  his  ancestry,  his  birth,  and  his  relations  with  Toscanelli. 
The  author  has  made  a  thorough  study  of  the  sources,  many  of  them 
recently  published. 


COLONIAL   SYSTEM 

Bourne,  Edward  Gaylord. — "  Spain  in  America." 
Noted  above.     Critical  essay  on  the  authorities. 

Winsor,  Justin,  ed. — "  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America  " ;  Vol.  VIII. : 
"  The  Later  History  of  British,  Spanish,  and  Portuguese  America." 
Boston  and  New  York,  1889. 
Contains  the  colonial  history  of  South  America  and  the  wars  of  inde- 
pendence, with  critical  essay  on  the  sources  of  information  by  Sir  Clements 
Roberts  Markham ;  bibliographical  notes  on  Brazil  and  colonial  South 
America,  and  an  essay  on  the  historical  chorography  of  South  America 
by  W^insor. 

Zimmerman,  A. — "Die  Kolonialpolitik  Portugals  und  Spaniens."     1896. 

A  good  narrative  with  a  full  bibliographical  list.     Covers  Portuguese  and 
Spanish  colonization  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 

The  following  works,  in  addition  to  those  listed  by  Bourne,  Winsor,  and 
Zimmerman,  may  be  noted : 

Graham,   R.    B.   Cimninghame. — "A   Vanished   Arcadia:   Jesuits   in    Paraguay, 
1607-1767."     New  York,  1901. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  359 

Leroy-Beaulieu,   Paul. — "  De  la   colonisation  ches  les  peuplcs  modernes."     5th 
edition,  Vol.  I.     Paris,  1902. 
This  eminent  economist  gives  in  chapters  i.  and   ii.,  brief  accounts  of  the 
Spanish  and   Portuguese  colonial   systems,  with   special   reference  to   their 
economic  aspects. 

Roscher,  Wilhelm  Georg  Friedrich. — "  The  Spanish  Colonial  System,"  edited  by 
E.  G.  Bourne.  New  York,  1904. 
A  translation  of  a  chapter  of  the  author's  "  Kolonicn,  Kolonialpolitik  und 
Anszvanderung"  from  the  third  Leipzig  edition.  Roscher's  main  source  is 
the  "  Laws  of  the  Indies,"  and  his  work  is  especially  valuable  for  the  eco- 
nomic aspects  of  colonization.  Professor  Bourne's  bibliographical  notes  give 
valuable  references  to  works  in  English. 


THE  WARS   OF   INDEPENDENCE 

See:  Winsor,  "Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America,"  Vol.  VIII.; 
and  Larned,  "  Literature  of  American  History,"  Part  VI.,  by  G.  P.  Winship 
(noted  above).     Also,  in  addition  to  the  works  there  listed: 

Latane,   John   H. — "  Diplomatic    Relations    of   the    United    States    and    Spanish 

America"  ("Albert  Shaw  Lectures").    Baltimore,  1900. 
Paxson,    Frederic   Logan. — "  Independence   of   the    South   American    Republics : 
a  Study  in  Recognition  and  P'oreign  Policy."     Philadelphia,  1903. 
Based  on  impublished  sources.     Describes  the  attitude  of  the  United  States 
and    England    toward    the    revolted    Spanish    colonies.      Contains    a    full 
bibliography. 

NATIONAL   HISTORY 
See  Larned,  "Literature  of  American  History";  Part  VI.   (cited  above): 

For  the  different  states  of  South  America  bibliographies  may  be  found 
in  the  "  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,"  the  "  Grande  Encyclopedie,"  and  in  Larisse 
and  Rambaud,"  Histoire  generale." 

ARGENTINE   REPUBLIC 

Napp. — "Die  argentinische  Republik  Buenos- Ayres,"  1876. 

Latham. — "  The  States  of  the  River  Plate."     London,  1868. 

Friederich,  Karl. — "  Die  La  Plata  Lander."     Hamburg,  1884. 

Dacraux,  En. — "  Buenos  Ayres,  la  Pampa  et  la  Patagonie."     Paris,  1874. 

Latzina,    Francisco. — "  Die   argentinische    Republik    als    Ziel    der    Europaischen 

Austvanderung."     Buenos   Ayres,    1883. 
Olasgoaca,  Manuel. — "La  conquete  de  la  Pampa."    Buenos  Ayres,  1884. 

BOLIVIA 

Cortes,  Manuel  Jose. — "  Ensayo  sobre  la  historia  de  Bolivia."    Sucre,  1861. 
Guiterrez. — "  La   constituciones  politicas  que  ha   te»*do    la   repuhlica   Boliviano 

(1826-1868). 
Mossbach. — "Bolivia."     1875. 
Wiener. — "  Bolivie  et  Perou."     Paris,  1880. 


360  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

BRAZIL 

Azevedo,  'Morerz.—" Historia  do  Brazil"   (from  1831  to  1840).     Rio. 
Conty,  Dr.—"  Le  Bresil  en  1884."     Rio,  1884. 

"  L'esclavage  au  Bresil."    Paris,  1880. 

Jourdain. — "  Guerra  do  Paraguay."     Rio,  1871.     i  vol.  and  i  atlas. 

Levasseur.— "  Abolition  de  l'esclavage  au  Bresil."    Paris,  1888. 

Mosse.— "Dom  Pedro  II."     Paris,   1889. 

Pulano. — "  Der  Sturm  des  Kaiserthrons  un  Brasilien."     1892. 

Saint-Hilaire,  Aug.  de. — "Precis  de  I'histoire  des  Revolutions  du  Bresil."    Paris, 

1832. 
Santa-.-\nna-Nery,    Baron   J.    de. — "  Le   pays   des   Amazone,   V   El   Dorado,   les 

tcrres    a    caoutchouc."      Paris,    1899:    translated    by    George    Humphrey 

("Land  of  the  Amazons").     New  York,  1901. 
Additions  have  been  made  to  the  text  in  the  translation. 
Silva,  Pevina  de. — " Historia  do  Brazil  de  1831-1840"    Rio,  1878. 
Varnhagen,  F.   A.  de. — "  Exanien   de   quelques  points  de  I'histoire  du  Bresil." 

Paris,   1857. 
Wright,  Marie   Robinson. — "  The  New   Brazil :    Its   Resources   and   Attractions, 

Historical,  Descriptive,  and  Industrial."     Philadelphia,  1901. 

CHILI 

Barros,  Araua  D. — "Historia  general  de  Chili."    9  vols.,  1884,  1888. 
Wiener. — "  Chili  et  Chiliens."     1888. 

Smith,  W.  Anderson. — "  Temperate  Chile :   a  Progressive  Spain."     New  York, 
1899. 

COLOMBIA 
Mosquera. — "Los  partidos  en  Colombia."     1874. 

ECUADOR 
Cevallos. — " Rcsumcn  de  la  historia  del  Ecuador"   (to  1845).     3  vols.,  1886. 

PERU 

Middendorf,  E.   W. — "Peru,  Beobachtungen   und  Studien  iibcr  das  Land  und 
seine  Bewohner."    3  vols.     Berlin,  1894-1896. 
This  book  contains :  a  short  history  of  the  country ;  a  description  of  Lima, 
of  the  coast,  of  the  tableland,  of  the  archaeological   remains,   and  of  the 
present  economic  condition. 

Urrutia. — "  Epocas  del  Peru."    Lima,  1844. 

URUGUAY 

Bordoni. — "Montevideo  e  la  republica  del  Uruguay."    1888  pon. 
Maria,  de. — "Historia  del  Uruguay."    1875-1876. 

VENEZUELA 

Rojas,  de. — " Bosquejo  historico  de   Venezuela"     1888. 
Fatz.—"  Autobiografia."    New  York.    2  vols.     1867-1869. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  361 

GENERAL 

Akers,  Charles  Edward. — "History  of  South  America,  1854-1904."     New  York, 
1904. 
A  trustworthy  account  of  the  events  of  the  years  1875-1904  by  a  competent 
observer.     Unsatisfactory  for  the  earher  period.     Good  maps  and  illustra- 
tions. 
Carpenter,    Frank    G. — "  South    America :     Social,     Industrial,    and     Political." 
Akron,  O.,  1900. 
Useful  description  of  existing  industrial  and  social  conditions.     Comments 
on  political  matters  untrustworthy. 
Curtis,  William  Eleroy. — "  Between  the  Andes  and  the  Ocean."     Chicago,  1900. 

A  sympathetic  description  of  existing  conditions. 
Dawson,    Thomas    Cleland. — "South    American    Republics"     ("Story    of    the 
Nations").    New  York,  1903-1904.    2  vols. 
Better  for  the  East  Andean  than  for  the  Pacific  states. 
Walton,  Clifford   Stevens. — "  The  Civil  Law  in  Spain  and  Spanish  America." 
Washington,  1900. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Aberastein:  leads  revolt,  129 

Aceval,  Emilio:  president  of  Para- 
guay, 260 

Ache,  Jose  Maria :  member  of  Coun- 
cil of  State  of  Bolivia,  188;  made 
president  of  Bolivia,  189;  wound- 
ed and  deposed,   190 

Acosta,  Joaquin :  leads  revolution  in 
Colombia,  90 

Agatoes,  The:  destroy  themselves,  50 

Agolas:    explores  the   Parana,  25 

Agreda,  Colonel:  leads  revolution  in 
Bolivia,    187 

Agua  Santa:  battle  of  (1842),   197 

Aguado,  Juan:  appointed  to  investi- 
gate Columbus's  colony  in  Hayti, 
II 

Agueda,  Casto:  leads  insurrection, 
190 

Aguirre,  Anastasio:  administration 
of,  as  president  of  Uruguay,   142 

Aguirre,  Lopez  de:  explorations  of, 
29 

Albuquerque,  Brazil:  taken  by  the 
Paraguayans   (1864),  157 

Alcorta,  Jose  Figueros :  succeeds  to 
the   presidency   of   Argentina,  257 

Alexander  VI  (Borgia),  Pope:  his 
bull,  13,  14 

Alfaro,  Eloy:  his  administration  as 
ruler  of  Ecuador,  244 

Alfredo,  Joao :  overthrow  of  his  min- 
istry, 252 

Almagro,  Diego  de:  career  of,  18; 
death  of,  24 

Alonzo,  Mariano  Roque:  granted  ex- 
ecutive power  in   Paraguay,   155 

Alonzo,  Severo :  president  of  Bo- 
livia, 243 

Alsina,  Valentin:  appointed  captain- 
general  of  Buenos  Ayres,   128 


Altamirano,  Eulogio:  Minister  of  the 
Interior  and  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
227 

Alves,  Francisco  Rodriguez :  presi- 
dent of  Brazil,  255 

Amazon,  A  New  Peruvian  Route  to 
the  Plain  of  the,  305 

Amazon  River:  mouth  of,  discovered, 
15;  explored,  25;  opened  to  the 
commerce  of  the  world,  178 

Ambato,  Compact  of :  concluded,  108 ; 
abolished,    109 

Anchorena:  made  Minister  of  Fi- 
nance, 122 

Ancon,  Treaty  of  (1884),  238,  264 

Andrada  e  Silva,  Bonifacio  Jose  de: 
guardian  of  Pedro  II.  of  Brazil, 
169 

Andrade:  president  of  Venezuela,  246 

Andres:  leads  Indian  rebellion,  52 

Anglo-Venezuelan  Boundary  Dispute 
(1840- I 897),  263 

Antioquia:  rebels  against  Spanish 
authority,  56 

Antofagasta:  advent  of  Chilian  emi- 
grants in,  234;  occupied  by  Chili 
(1879),  234 

Aquidaban:   battle  of   (1870),   160 

Aranda,  Diego  de:  placed  over  a  col- 
ony in  Hayti,  8 

Aranjuez:   revolution  of,  54 

Arancania :  dispute  over  possession 
of,  227 

Arboleda,  Julio:  his  administration 
as  president  of  the  Grenadine  Con- 
federation, 86;  death  of,  87 

Arce,    Aniceto:   president    of    Bolivia, 

243 
Areche,  Jose  Antonio  de:  orders  the 

execution    of    the    cacique,    Con- 

dorquanqui,  51 
Arenas,    Antonio:    candidate    for    the 

presidency  (1872),  210 


365 


366 


INDEX 


Arequipa:  battle  of  (1845),  199;  rises 
for  Canseco  (1867),  209;  battle 
of   (1867),  209 

Argentine  Republic:  from  1820  to 
1876,  118;  from  1876  to   1906,  256 

Arica:  declared  a  common  port  for 
Bolivia  and  Peru,  188;  taken  by 
the  Chilians  (1880),  237;  given  to 
Chili  (1883),  238;  taken  by  the 
Congressionalists    (1891),  239 

Arismendi,    General:    leads    rebellion, 

lOI 

Amat,  Antonio:  sketch  of,  50 

Arredondo:  joins  insurrection  of 
Mitre,   135 

Arroyo  Grande:  battle  of  (1842),  139 

Arteta:  made  president  of  Ecuador, 
116 

Artigas,  Jose:  acknowledged  as  head 
of  the  Banda  Oriental,  70;  death 
of,  119 

Asuncion:  taken  by  the  allied  forces 
of  Brazil,  Uruguay,  and  Argen- 
tina, 159 

Asuncion,  Treaty  of  (1811),  147 

Atacama,   Desert  of:   desired   by   Chili, 

Atahualpa,  Inca  of  Peru:  career  of, 
19;  death  of,  20 

Avellaneda  Nicolas :  elected  presi- 
dent of  Argentina,  135;  his  ad- 
ministration, 256 

Avendafio,  Colonel :  leads  insurrec- 
tion, 149 

Avila,  Pedro  Arias  de :  orders  execu- 
tion of  Balboa,  17 

Ayacucho:  battle  of  (1825),  73 


B 


Baez:  president  of  Paraguay,  260 
liabahoyo:  battle  of  (i860),  iir 
Bahia:  captured  by  the  Dutch  (1624), 

Balboa,  Vasco  Nunez:  discovers  the 
Pacific   Ocean,    16 

Balcarqe,  Juan  Ramon:  made  Min- 
ister of  War,  122 

Ballivian,  Adolfo:  made  president  of 
Bolivia,    191 

Ballivian,  Jose:  made  vice-president 
of  Bolivia,  187 


Balmaceda,  Jose  Manuel:  as  presi- 
dent of  Chili,  238;  death  of,  239 

Balta,  Jose:  heads  conspiracy,  208; 
becomes  president  of  Peru,  209; 
assassinated,  210 

Baltimore:  in  Valparaiso,  240 

Balza,  Colonel:  aids  rebellion  of 
Fernandez,   189 

Baptista,  Mariano:  president  of  Bo- 
livia, 243 

Barbosa,  Ruy:  leads  Republican 
party,  252;  member  of  provis- 
sional  government,  253 

Baredo:  president  of  Paraguay,  260 

Bastidas,  Rodrigo  de:  discoveries  of, 
16 

BatUe,  Lorenzo:  his  administration 
as  president  of  Uruguay,   146 

Batlle  y  Ordonez,  Juan :  elected  presi- 
dent of  Uruguay,  259 

Beauchesne-Gouin:     explorations     of, 

34 
Bedoya,    Diaz    de:    member    of    pro- 
visional government  of  Paraguay, 

IS9 

Belgrano,  Manuel:  leads  revolutioji- 
ary  movement,  57 

Belzu,  Manuel  Isidoro:  made  presi- 
dent of  Bolivia,  188;  death  of. 
190 

Bermudez,  General:  candidate  for 
presidential   honors,   194 

Bermudez,  Morales:  his  administra- 
tion as  president  of  Peru,  242 

Berro,  Bernardo:  elected  president  of 
Uruguay,   141 

Bethencourt,  Jean  de:  his  conquest 
of  the  Canaries,  3 

Blanco,  Antonio  Guzman :  candidate  for 
president  of  Venezuela,  96;  made 
vice-president,  98;  his  mission  to 
Europe,  100;  opens  the  Congress 
of  1866,  102;  leads  insurrection, 
103;  presidency  of,  104;  his  ad- 
ministration and  power  in  Vene- 
zuela, 245;  demands  that  British 
evacuate   disputed  territory,  263 

Bobadilla,  Francisco  de:  sends  Co- 
lumbus in  chains  to  Spain,  12; 
death  of,   13 

Bocayuva,  Quintino:  leads  Republican 
party,  252;  member  of  provisional 
government,  253 


INDEX 


367 


Bogota:  taken  by  the  revolutionist?, 
68;  description  of,  92 

Bolivar,  Simon,  the  Liberator:  takes 
an  oath  to  deliver  South  America 
from  Spain,  52;  sketch  of,  58; 
made  captain  general  of  New 
Granada  and  Venezuela,  64;  made 
general-in-chief,  67;  made  dicta- 
tor in  Colombia,  "JT,  estimate  of, 
78;  and  Bolivia,  181;  death  of,  84 

Bolivia  (Upper  Peru) :  rebels  against 
Spanish  authority,  58;  over- 
throws Sucre,  82;  creation  of, 
121;  from  1825  to  1876,  181;  at 
war  with  Chili,  234;  from  1876  to 
1906,  243 

Bolivia-Brazil  Boundary  Dispute 
(1903),  265 

Bolivian  Code,  184 

Bonpland:  detained  in  Paraguay,  147 

Borda,  Juan  Idiarte ;  his  administra- 
tion as  president  of  Uruguay, 
259;  assassinated,  259 

Borges:   joins    insurrection   of    Mitre, 

135 

Borrero,  Antonio:  president  of  Ecua- 
dor, 244 

Boundary   Disputes    (1890-1906),  261 

Boves:  sketch  of,  ^2 

Boyaca:  battle  of  (1819),  68 

Boyle:  leads  plot  against  Columbus, 
10 

Brazil:  discovered,  15;  exploration 
and  colonization  of,  29,  32;  colo- 
nial government  of,  2>7\  during 
the  revolutions  of  1810-1826,  69; 
annexes  Montevideo,  120;  empire 
of  (1808-1876),  162;  from  1876  to 
1906,  248 

Brazil-Argentina  Boundary  Dispute 
(1895),  265 

Brazil-British  Guiana  Boundary  Dis- 
pute (1904),  265 

Brie:   his  services  in   South   America, 

139 

Brion,  Pedro  Luis:  aids  the  revolu- 
tionists, 65 

Brown,  Admiral:  aids  Argentina 
against  Brazil,  121;  aids  Unita- 
rian party,  123;  blockades  Monte- 
video, 125 

Buchanan,  William  Insco:  arbitrator 
in  Chili-Ar<,rentine   dispute,  261 


Buenos  Ayres:  founded,  25;  made 
capital  of  the  viceroyalty  of  La 
Plata,  40;  rebels  against  Spanish 
authority,  57;  blcjckaded  by  an 
English  squadron  (1804-1807),  57; 
blockaded  by  Erench  and  Eng- 
lish fleets  (1845),  126;  siege  of 
(1852),  128;  growth  of,  under  Dr. 
Obligado,  128;  scourged  with  the 
cholera  (1867),  132;  yellow  fevei- 
epidemic  (1871),  134;  rises  in  be- 
half of  the  Nationalists,  256 
Buenos  Ayres,  Treaty  of  (1865),  IS7 
Bull  of  Alexander  VL:  see  Demarca- 
tion, Line  of 
Bulnes,    General:    his    administration 

as  president  of  Chili,  218 
Bustamante:  policy  of,  115 
Bustos:   opposes   Rivadavia,  121 


Caamaiio,  Placido:  administration  of 
as  ruler  of  Ecuador,  244 

Cabal :  death  of,  65 

Caballero:  president  of  Paraguay,  260 

Cabot,  John:  explorations   of,   15 

Cabot,  Sebastian:  explorations  of,  15 

Cabral,  Pedro  Alvarez:  discoveries 
of,  15 

Cabrera,  Ladislas:  at  the  battle  of 
Calama,   234 

Calama:  occupied  by  Chili  (1879),  234; 
battle  of   (1879),  234 

Caldas:  death  of,  65 

Caldera:  declared  to  be  in  a  state  of 
blockade    (1865),  221 

Callao:  surrendered  to  the  revolu- 
tionists, Ty,  rising  in  (1835),  195; 
breakwater  and  jetty  built,  203; 
bombarded   (1866),  207 

Callao,  Treaty  of  (1865),  204,  220 

Cameran:  leads  rebellion  against 
foreign  rule  in  Brazil,  2>Z 

Campero,  Narciso :  made  president  of 
Bolivia,  236 

Canal,  Leonardo:  surrenders  to  the 
revolutionists,  87 

Canseco:  proclaimed  president  of  Peru, 
205 

Canto,  General :  at  the  battle  of  Valpa- 
raiso (1891),  239 


36S 


INDEX 


Cape  Agamos:  battle  of  (1879),  235 

Caracas:  revolution  in  (1810),  55;  entry 
of  Bolivar  into,  61 ;  occupied  by  the 
revolutionists  (.1821),  Ty,  insurrec- 
tion in  (1829),  83 

Caraguatay:  battle  of  (1869),  I59 

Carceres:  his  administration  as  presi- 
dent of  Peru,  242 

Cardenas :  refuses  to  acknowledge  Fal- 
con   as   president   of   Venezuela,   98 

Carmancho:  made  general-in-chief  of 
Bolivian  forces,  236 

Caro,  Miguel :  becomes  president  of  Co- 
lombia, 245 

Carrion,  Jeronimo :  made  president  of 
Ecuador,  114;  administration  of,  115 

Cartagena:  founded,  16;  sacked  by 
Drake  (1580),  30;  siege  of  (1815), 
64;    occupied    by   the   revolutionists 

(1821),  n 

Carvajal,  General:  leads  insurrection,  loi 

Carvalho,  Francisco  Coelho  de :  repeals 
the  decree  allowing  slave-trade  to 
be  cariied  on  constantly,  39 

Casanare :  rebels  against  Spanish  au- 
thority, 56 

Castelli :  leads  revolutionary  movement, 

57 

Castilla,  Ramon :  made  president  of 
Peru,  198;  exiled,  198;  raises  a  re- 
bellion, 198;  second  administration 
of,  200;  death  of,  208 

Castillo,  Manuel :  leads  army  for  the 
liberation  of  Venezuela,  60 

Castro,  Cipriano :  his  administration  as 
president  of  Venezuela,  246 

Castro,  Julian :  provisional  president  of 
Venezuela,  96 

Castro,  Vaca  de:  his  government  in 
Peru,  26 

Catari :  leads  Indian  rebellion,  52 

Caudamo :  president  of  Peru,  242 

Caxias,  General :  crushes  the  insurrec- 
tion in  San  Paulo,  170 

Cera :  resists  the  creation  of  the  empire 
of  Brazil,  167 

Ceballos :  made  acting  president  of  Peru, 
210 

Celman,  Miguel  Juarez:  his  presidency 
of  Argentina,  256 

Centena,  Diego:  revolt  of,  27 

Cepeda:  battles  of  (1820),  71;  (1859), 
129 


Chacabuco:  battle  of  (1817),  72 
Charcas,  Bolivia :  rebels  against  Spanish 

authority  (1809),  58 
Charles    X,   King   of   France:    downfall 

of,  169 
Charles  IV,  King  of  Spain :  dethroned, 

54 
Charruas,  The:  description  of,  138 
Chibchas :  destruction  of,  18 
Chili :  conquered  by  the  Spaniards,  21,  25 ; 

Drake  lays  waste  the  coast  of,  30; 

rebels     against     Spanish     authority 

(1810),  57;  from  1825  to  1876,  215; 

from  1876  to  1906,  233,  238;  at  war 

with  Bolivia,  234 
Chili-Argentine      Dispute      (1895-1902), 

261 
Chincha  Islands :  siezed  by   Spain,  203, 

220 
Choco:  rebels  against  Spanish  authority, 

56 
Chorillos:  taken  by  the  Chilians  (1881), 

237 

Chuquisaca :  see  Sucre 

Cisneros,  Viceroy  of  the  La  Plata 
provinces :  deposed,  57 

Cisplatine  Province :  see  Montevideo 

Cleveland,  Grover,  President  of  the 
United  States:  in  the  Anglo-Vene- 
zuelan boundary  dispute,  264 

Cobija:  defies  Melgarejo  (1865),  190; 
occupied  by  Chili   (1879),  234 

Cochrane,  Thomas,  Earl  of  Dundonald: 
his  services  in  South  America,  ^2, 
166 

Cocomes,  The :  destroy  themselves,  50 

Colina,  General :  elected  vice-president 
of  Venezuela,  102 

Colombia :  created,  69 ;  organized,  TZ  J 
from  1824  to  1876,  "JT,  formation  of, 
84;  from  1876  to  1906,  244;  see  also 
New  Granada  and  Venezuela 

Colombia-Costa  Rica  Boundary  Dis- 
pute  (1880),  265 

Colombia-Venezuela  Boundary  Dispute 
(1891),  265 

Columbus,  Bartholomew :  his  success  in 
England,  4;  his  rule  in  Hispaniola, 
12 

Columbus,  Christopher :  discoveries  of, 
5;  second  voyage  of,  9;  third  voy- 
age of,  11;  fourth  voyage  of,  13 

Columbus,  Fernando :  birth  of,  4 


INDEX 


069 


Concepcion:  rioting  at  (1829),  215 

Condorquaiiqui,  Cacique  of  Tangasuga : 
revolt  of,  51 

Conselheiro :  see  Macicl,  Antonio 

Constant,  Benjamin:  leads  revolution  in 
Brazil,  253 ;  Secretary  of  War  in 
provisional  government,  253 

Copiapo :  revolt  of  (1858),  218 

Coquimbo :  declared  to  be  in  a  state  of 
blockade  (1865),  221 

Cordero,  Luis :  his  administration  as 
ruler  of  Ecuador,  244 

Cordoba,  General :  death  of,  83 

Cordova,  Joaquin :  attempts  a  conser- 
vative uprising,  89 

Cordova,  Jorge :  made  president  of  Bo- 
livia, 188 

Cortereal,  Caspar:  explorations  of,  16 

Cortez,  liernando :  aids  in  conquest  of 
Cuba,   17;  conquers  Mexico,  17 

Corumba:  taken  by  the  Paraguayans 
(1864),  157 

Cosa,  Juan  de  la :  see  La  Cosa,  Juan  de 

Costa  Favella,  Pedro  da :  cruelty  of,  38 

Costa  Rica :  discovered,  13 

Covarrubias,  Alvaro:  refuses  Spanish 
demands,  220 

Crespo,  Joaquin :  president  of  Vene- 
zuela, 246 

Cruz  y  Goyeneche,  Luis  de  la:  made 
Minister  of  War  and  Marine,  120 

Cuaspud:  battle  of  (1863),  88,  112 

Cuba:  discovered,  7;  conquered  by  the 
Spaniards,  17 

Cubagua:  discovered,  12 

Cuenca :  description  of,  106 

Cuestas,  Juan  Lindolfo :  his  administra- 
tion as  president  of  Uruguay,  259 

Cullen  :  death  of,  124 

Cumana :  occupied  by  the  revolutionists 
(1821),  7Z 

Curupayti:  battle  of  (1865),  145 

Cuzco:  supports  Vivanco,  196 


Daza,  Hilarion :  in  the  war  virith  Chili, 
235 ;  deposed  as  president  of  Bo- 
livia, 236 

Declaration  of  Rights,  Venezuelan:  is- 
sued, 98 


Dcgcnncs :  explorations  of,  34 
Demarcation,   Line  of:   established,    14; 

false  interpretations  of,  39 
Derqui,  Santiago :  becomes  president  of 

Argentina,    129;   flees    from  Argen- 
tina, 130 
Diaz,    Enrique:    leads    rebellion    against 

foreign  rule  in  Brazil,  2>Z 
Dolores:  battle  of  (1879),  235 
Dominica :  discovered,  9 
Dorrcgo,    Manuel :    aids    the    policy    of 

union   in  Argentina,   122;  death  of, 

123 
Dourado :    taken    by    the    Paraguayans 

(1864),  157 
Drake,  Francis :   terrorizes   the  Spanish 

colonies,  30 
Duclerc:   his  expedition  against  Brazil, 

34 
Dutch,  The :  in  Brazil,  33 


E 


Echenique,  Jose  Rufino:  at  the  battle  of 
Jauja,  19s;  made  president  of 
Peru,  199;  candidate  for  the  presi- 
dency (1872),  210 

Echevarria  (Echeverria),  Esteban : 
sketch  of,  118 

Echezuria,  Colonel :  leads  insurrection 
in  Venezuela,  97;   imprisoned,  98 

Ecuador :  separates  from  Colombia,  84 ; 
formation  of,  84;  from  1831  to  1876, 
105 ;  from  1876  to  1906,  244 

Egusquiza:  president  of  Paraguay,  260 

Elias,  Domingo :  declares  himself  presi- 
dent of  Peru,  198 

Elizalde :  favors  a  Brazilian  alliance,  132 

Ellauri,  Jose :  his  administration  as 
president  of  Uruguay,  146 

El  Pilar,  Peace  of  (1820),  71,  119 

Eric  the  Red :  settles  in  Greenland,  3 

Errasuriz,  Federico :  his  administration 
as  president  of  Chili,  226,  238 ;  given 
the  command  of  the  Congression- 
alist  troops,  239;  his  second  ad- 
ministration, 240 

Escobar,  Patricio:  president  of  Para- 
guay, 260 

Escurra,  Juan  B. :  president  of  Para- 
guay, 260 


370 


INDEX 


Esmeralda:  captures  the  Virgcn  dc 
Covadonga,  221 ;  sunk,  235 

Espinosa,  Javier:  elected  president  of 
Ecuador,  116 

Estigarribia,  Colonel:  treason  of,  157 

Eu,  Count  d':  his  campaign  against 
Peru,  159 


Falcon,  Juan  Jose:  promotes  a  Federal- 
ist movement,  97;  made  president 
of  Venezuela,  98;  reelected  presi- 
dent, lOI 

Falls  of  Iguazu,  314 

Fcijo,  Antonio,  Bishop  of  Mariana: 
made  regent  of  Brazil,  169 

Fcleciano,  Senator :  leads  insurrection 
in  Minas  Geraes,  170 

Ferdinand  VII,  King  of  Spain:  acces- 
sion of,  54 

Fernandez,  Ruperto :  member  of  pro- 
visional government  of  Bolivia,  188; 
leads   insurrection,   189 

T'"crnando:   discovered   and  named,  6 

I'Y'zicr:  his  explorations,  34 

Mores,  Antonio:  his  administration  as 
president  of  Ecuador,  244 

Flores,  Juan  Jose :  his  First  administra- 
tion as  president  of  Ecuador,  107; 
made  commander-in-chief  of  the 
army,  108;  his  second  administra- 
tion, 109;  his  third  administration, 
109;  at  the  battle  of  Babahoyo,  lii; 
in  the  battle  of  Cuaspud,  88,  112; 
death  of,  114 

Flores,  Venancio :  rebellion  of,  131,  142; 
becomes  ruler  of  Uruguay,  144; 
assassinated,  146 

Florida :  Ponce  de  Leon  founds  colony 
in,  16;  sacked  by  Drake   (1580),  30 

Fonseca,  Bishop  of  Badajos:  aids  plot 
against  Columbus,    10 

Fonseca,  Deodora  da:  leads  revolution 
in  Brazil,  253;  president  of  pro- 
visional government,  253;  resigns, 
254 

Francia,  Jose  Caspar  Rodriguez  de : 
holds  Artigas  as  a  prisoner,  T19; 
made  Secretary  of  State  of  Para- 
guay, 147;  sketch  of,  148;  made 
dictator,  148;  death  of,  153;  esti- 
mate of,  154 


Franco,  Guillermo :  in  the  war  between 
Ecuador  and  Peru,  no;  made  head 
of  the  government  in  Ecuador,  in 

Franco-Brazilian  Boundary  Dispute 
(1899),  262 

Franco-Dutch  Guiana  Boundary  Dis- 
pute  (1891),  262 

Freyre,  General:  president  of  Chili,  215 

Frias,  Tomas :  made  provisional  presi- 
dent of  Bolivia,  191 ;  made  presi- 
dent, 191 

Fueillee :  his  voyages  of  exploration,  34 

Furtado:  forms  ministry,  176 


Gallegas,  Mariquita  (Perichole)  :  sketch 
of,  50 

Gallo,  Pedro  Leon :  in  the  revolt  of 
Copiapo,  219 

Galvez,  Jose:  death  of,  207 

Gama,  Vasco  da:  doubles  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  14 

Gamarra,  Agustin :  rebellion  of,  193; 
made  president  of  Peru,  193 ;  death 
of,  187,   196 

Garay :  usurps  the  governorship  of  the 
La  Plata  provinces,  42 

Garcia:  made  Mhiister  of  Finance,  120; 
his  mission  to  Brazil,  121 

Garcia,  Lizardo :  his  administration  as 
ruler  of  Ecuador,  244 

Garibaldi,  Giuseppe :  his  services  in 
South  America,  126,  139 

Gauchos :  description  of,  118 

Gil  (Gill),  Juan  Bautista:  made  presi- 
dent of  Paraguaj^  161 ;  his  adminis- 
tration as  president  of  Paraguay, 
260 

Gil  Colunje:  made  president  of  Pana- 
ma, 89 

Goitia,  Colonel:  leads  revolution  in  Bo- 
livia, 187 

Gomensoro,  Dr. :  concludes  an  armistice 
with  the  insurgents,  146 

Gomez :  made  president  of  Venezuela, 
246 

Gonzalez,  Colonel :  attempts  to  aid 
Pezet  against  the  insurgents,  206 

Gonzalez,  Juan :  president  of  Paraguay, 
260 

Granadine  Confederation :  see  Co- 
lombia 


INDEX 


371 


Grand-Para  and  Maranham,  Company 
of:  created,  39 

Gran,  Miguel :  in  the  war  with  Chili, 
235 

Greenland :  settled  by  the  Northmen,  3 

Guadalupe:  discovered,  9 

Gual,  Pedro :  suppresses  the  insurrec- 
tion, 96 

Guarina:  battle  of  (1547),  27 

Guayaquil:  description  of,  106;  insur- 
rection in   (1864),  114 

Guaynacapac :  founds  a  kingdom  in 
Guiana,  27 

Guerra,  Lieutenant-Colonel :  insurrec- 
tion of,  185 

Guerra,  Cristobal :  discoveries  of,   15 

Guiana:  Indian  kingdom  founded  in,  27 

Gurzon,  Colonel :  rebellion  of,  138 

Gutierrez,  Juan   Maria:    sketch   of,    118 

Gutierrez,  Marcelino :  assassinates 
Balta,  210 

Gutierrez,  Santos  Joaquin :  elected  presi- 
dent of  Colombia,  90 

Gutierrez,   Tomas :    insurrection   of,  210 

Guzman  Blanco,  Antonio :  see  Blanco, 
Antonio  Guzman 

H 

Hayti  (Hispaniola)  :  discovered  and 
named,  7 

Henry  VII,  King  of  England:  sends  out 
the  Cabots,  15 

Hercelles,  Colonel:  his  mission  to 
Paita,  197 

Heredia,  General:  death  of,  124 

Herradura :  declared  to  be  in  a  state  of 
blockade  (1865),  221 

Herrera  y  Obes,  Julio:  his  administra- 
tion as  president  of  Uruguay,  259 

Hispaniola:  see  Hayti 

Honduras :  discovered,  13 

Huascar :   at  war  with  Atahualpa,   19 

Hiiascar:  sinks  the  Esmeralda,  235 ;  de- 
stroyed, 23s 

Huacho :  gold  mines  discovered  at,  209 


Ibarra :  cruelty  of,  125 
,Ica:  insurrection  in  (1865),  207 
llglesias,     Miguel :     made    president    of 
Peru,  242 


Tguazu,  Falls  of,  314 

Infernal  Legion,  The :  description  of,  62 

Ingavi:  battle  of   (1841),  187 

International  Conference,  Third :  pro- 
gramfne  of,   277;   account  of,  280 

Iquique :  blockaded,  235 ;  taken  by  the 
Congressionalists    (1891),  239 

Irala:  explores  the  Parana,  25;  his 
government  of  the  La  Plata  prov- 
inces, 42 

Isabel :  discovered  and  named,  6 

Isabella,  Hayti :  see  San  Domingo 

Ituzaingo:  battle  of  (1827),  121 


Jagungos :  rebellion  of,  255 

Janizo,  Rear-Admiral :  death  of,  205 

Januria,  Princess  of  Brazil :  declared 
heir  to  the  throne  of  Brazil,  170 

Jauja:  battle  of  (1833),  195 

Jesuits :  influence  of,  in  Brazil,  37 ;  ex- 
pelled from  Brazil,  38;  found  Para- 
guay, 48 ;  expelled  from  Paraguay, 
49;  return  to  Argentina,  136;  per- 
mitted to  establish  schools  in  Uru- 
guay, 144;  expelled  from  Pernam- 
buco,   178 

John  VI,  King  of  Portugal:  his  so- 
journ in  Brazil,  164;  acknowledges 
the  independence  of  Brazil,  167 

Jovellanos,  Salvador:  made  president  of 
Paraguay,  161 

Jungay:  battle  of  (1839),  195 

Junin:  battle  of  (1825),  7^ 

K 

Keymis,  Laurence:  his  expeditions  to 
South  America,  31 

Kolk,  Admiral  van  den :  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  in  provisional  govern- 
ment, 253 


La  Cosa,  Juan  de :  discoveries  of,  16 
Lafuente,  Antonio  Gutierrez  de :  rebel- 
lion of,  193 ;  made  vice-president 
of  Peru,  193;  leads  insurrection 
(i835)>  19s;  leads  insurrection 
(1842),  196;  forms  a  conspiracy 
against  Vivanco,   198 


INDEX 


La  Gasca,   Pedro  de:  made  viceroy  of 

Peru,  27 
La  Grita:  battle  of  (1813),  61 
La  Guayra:  occupied  by  the  revolution- 
ists   (1821),  ^i■,   blockaded    (1902), 
246 
La  Mar,  Jose:  his  campaign  against  Co- 
lombia, 82;  made  president  of  Peru, 
192 
La   Mar,  Manuel:  leads  the  Opposition 

party,  201 
Lamas,  Diego:  defeated  by  Flores,  142 
La  Paz:  rebels  against  Spanish  author- 
ity     (1809),     58;      insurrection     in 
(1861),       188;       defies       Melgarejo 
(1865),  190;  insurrection  in  (1875), 
191 
La  Paz,  Treaty  of  (1873),  227 
La  Plata  River:  description  of,  118 
La  Puerta:  battle  of  (1814),  63 
La  Puerta :  acting  president  of  Peru,  236 
Larcay:  battle  of  (1829),  216 
La  Ravardiere,  Daniel  de :   organizes  a 

maritime  company,  32 
La  Rioja:  insurrections  in    (1867),   132 
Las    Casas,    Bartoleme    de :    introduces 
negro  slavery  into   South  America, 

44 

Las  Heras,  Juan  Gregorio  de :  made 
president  of  Argentine  Republic,  120 

Lastera,  General :  made  president  of 
Chili,  216 

Latin  America  and  Colombia,  291 

La  Torre,  Gomez  de :  candidate  for 
president  of  Ecuador,  114 

Latorre,  Lorenzo:  made  provisional 
governor  of  Uruguay,  146;  his  dic- 
tatorship  in  Uruguay,  258 

Latorre,  Miguel  de:  succeeds  Morillo,  72 

Lavalle:  leads  the  Unitarians,  122;  leads 
rebellion,  123 

Lavalle,  Lopez :  leads  the  Opposition 
party,  201 

Lavalleja,  General:  in  Gurzon's  rebel- 
lion, 139 

Lc  Gentil,  Labarbinais:  his  explorations, 
34 

Legion,  The  Infernal:  see  Infernal 
Legion,  The 

Lcmaire,  Jacques :  discoveries  of,  32 

Leon,  Juan  Ponce  de :  occupies  Porto 
Rico,    16 

Lepe,  Diego:  explorations  of,  15 


Liais,  Emmanuel:  organizes  the  ob- 
servatory of  Rio  Janeiro,  179 

Liam,  Pedro  Araujo  de:  made  regent  of 
Brazil,   170 

Lima :  school  of  arts  and  trades  es- 
tablished in,  203;  battle  in  (1865), 
206;  description  of,  213;  Chilians 
enter   (1881),  238 

Line  of  Demarcation:  see  Demarcation, 
Line  of 

Linares,  Jose  Maria:  made  president  of 
Bolivia,  188;  death  of,  189 

Liniers,  Jacques  de :  organizes  the  Cre- 
oles of  the  La  Plata  provinces,  57 

Lobos  Island  Dispute,  The    (1852),  199 

Loizaga :  member  of  provisional  govern- 
ment of  Paraguay,  159 

Lopez,  Dr. :  provisional  president  of  Ar- 
gentina, 127 

Lopez,  of  Santa  Fe :  death  of,  124 

Lopez,  Carlos  Antonio :  granted  execu- 
tive power  in  Paraguay,  155 ;  made 
president  of  Paraguay,  155 

Lopez,  Francisco  Solano :  made  vice- 
president  of  Paraguay,  155 ;  sketch 
of,  156;  death  of,  160 

Lopez,  Jordan:  leads  insurrections,  133, 

134         _ 
Lopez,  Stanislas :  opposes  Rivadavia,  121 
Lopez,     Vincente :     elected     provisional 

president  of  Argentine  Republic,  122 
Lopez  y  Mendez,   Luis:  his  mission  to 

England,  59,  67 
Lower  Peru :  see  Peru 
Lozano :  death  of,  65 
Lugo,  Alvarez:  made  Minister  of  Public 

Credit,  100 
Luque,  Fernando  de :  career  of,  18 
Lynch,  Eliza:  sketch  of,  158 


M 


MacGregor:  aids  South  American  revo- 
lutionists, 66 

Mackau,  Vice-Admiral :  concludes  a 
treaty  with  Rosas  of  Argentina,  125 

Maciel  (Conselheiro),  Antonio:  leads 
rebellion  of  the  Jagunqos,  255 

Magellan,  Fernando :   discoveries  of,   17 

Manco-Capac  II,  Inca  of  Peru :  aids 
Spaniards  to  conquer  Chili,  22;  re- 
bels against  Pizarro,  24 


INDEX 


373 


Manoa:  description  of,  27 

Mapa :  attacked  by  the  Brazilians 
(1885),  265 

Margarita :   discovered,   12 

Margarite,  Pedro :  leads  plot  against 
Columbus,  10 

Mari-Galante :  discovered,  9 

Maria,  Queen  of  Portugal:  given  crown, 
167;  excluded  from  the  succession  in 
Brazil,   169 

Maria  Amalia  of  Leuchtenberg :  mar- 
ries Pedro  I   of  Brazil,  168 

Marino :   supports  rebellion  of  Paez,  81 

Mariquita :  rebels  against  Spanish  au- 
thority, 57 

Marmol:   sketch  of,   118 

Marquez,  General :  elected  vice-presi- 
dent of  Venezuela,  102 

Marroquin,  Jose  Manuel :  his  adminis- 
tration   as    president    of    Colombia, 

245 

Martinez :  refuses  to  acknow^ledge  Fal- 
con  as   president   of   Venezuela,   98 

Martinez,  Juan :  his  story  of  Manoa, 
28 

Martins,  Domingo  Jose :  in  the  rebel- 
lion of  Pemambuco,  164 

Massachusetts :  settled  by  the  North- 
men, 3 

Masham,  Thomas :  his  expedition  to 
South  America,  31 

Alatto  Grosso:   foreign  element  in,  251 

Maypo:  battle  of  (1818),  72 

Medina,  General :  defeats  Flores,  142 

Medina,  Juan  Jose:  attempts  to  seize 
the  government  in  Paraguay,  155 

Melgarejo,  Mariano:  made  president  of 
Bolivia,  190 

Mello,  Custodio  de :  leads  rebellion,  254 

Mendoza :  destroyed  by  earthquake 
(1861),  130 

Mendoza,  Alonso  Velez  de :  explora- 
tions of,  15 

Mendoza,  Pedro  de :  founds  Buenos 
Ayres,  25 

Menendez,  Manuel :  governs  Peru,  196 

Merida:  battle  of  (1813),  61 

Michelena,  General:   deserts  Paez,  98 

Miguel,  King  of  Portugal :  usurps  the 
throne,  168 

Miguelde:  death  of,  65 

Minas  Gcraes:  insurrection  in  (1841), 
170;    foreign  element  in,  251 


Miraflores :  occupied  by  the  Chilians 
(1881),  237 

Miranda,  Francisco  Antonio  Gabriel : 
joins  Bolivar,  59;  death  of,  60 

Mita,  The :  description  of,  44 

Mitre,  Bartolome:  sketch  of,  118;  de- 
feated by  Urquiza,  129;  appointed 
genaralissimo  of  the  troops  of 
Uruguay  and  Argentina,  131;  leads 
insurrection,  135;  revolts  against 
Avellaneda,  256 

Moilendo:  blockaded  (1879),  235 

Monagas,  Gregorio :  made  president  of 
Venezuela,  96 

Monagas,  J.  R. :  made  president  of 
Venezuela,  103 

Monagas,  Tadeo:  made  president  of 
Venezuela,  95 

Monserrat:  discovered,  9 

Monte  Caseros:  battle  of  (1852),  127 

Montcs,    Ysmael:    president   of    Bolivia, 

243 

Monteverde :  reconquers  Venezuela  for 
Spain,  60 

Montevideo :  blockaded  by  an  English 
squadron  (1804-1807),  57;  taken  by 
the  revolutionists  (1814),  64;  an- 
nexed to  Brazil,  120;  description  of, 
137 ;  blockaded  by  the  English  and 
French  fleets   (1842),  139;  progress 

of,  I45_ 

Montt,  Jorje:  chosen  president  of  Chili, 
239;   administration  of,  240 

Montt,  Manuel :  administration  of,  as 
president  of  Chili,  218 

Moqueja,  Valley  of:  occupied  by  the 
Chilians   (1880),  236 

Moraes  Barros,  Prudente  de :  elected 
president  of  Brazil,  254 

Morales,  Agustin :  made  president  of 
Bolivia,  190 

Moreno,  Gabriel  Garcia :  made  presi- 
dent of  Ecuador,  1 1 1 ;  sketch  of, 
III;  second  administration  of,  116; 
death  of,  116,  244 

Morillo,  Pablo :  captures  Cartagena, 
64;  recalled  from  South  America, 
72 

Morifiigo :  president  of  Paraguay,  260 

Mosquera,  Tomas  Cipriano :  elected 
president  of  Colombia,  83 ;  opposes 
the  conservatives,  86 ;  leads  civil 
war,  87;  wins  the  battle  of  Cuaspud, 


374 


INDEX 


88;  made  president  of  Colombia 
(1864),  89;  exiled  from  Colombia, 
90;  attempts  to  reorganize  the  old 
Republic  of  Colombia,  112 
Murillo  Toro,  Manuel :  elected  presi- 
dent of  Colombia,  87;  first  adminis- 
tration of,  88;  second  administration 
of,  90 


N 


Nabuco,  Joaquin :  his  speech  in  favor  of 
slavery  abolition,  249 

Xarborough :   explorations   of,   34 

Xeiva:  rebels  against  Spanish  authority, 
S6 

Newfoundland:  settled  by  the  North- 
men, 3;  discovered  by  the  English, 

15 
New  Granada:  made  a  viceroyalty,  40; 
during    the    revolution,    63 ;    united 
with  Venezuela,  69;  see  also  Colom- 
bia 
New  Peruvian  Route  to  the  Plain  of  the 

Amazon,  A,  305 
Nifio,  Alonso:  discoveries  of,   15 
Nioto,  General :  aids  Castilla,  199 
Noboa,     Diego :     elected     president     of 

Ecuador,   no 
Nombre  de  Dios :  founded,  16;  taken  by 

Drake   (i573),  30 

Nova  Scotia :  settled  by  the  Northmen,  3 

Nunez,     Mendez :     takes     command     of 

Spanish  fleet  in  Chilian  waters,  222 

Nunez,    Rafael :    his    administration    as 

president  of  Colombia,  245 


O 


Obes :  directs  the  defense  of  Montevideo 
(1842),  139 

Obligado:  administration  of.  128 

O'Higgins,  Bernardo:  president  of  Chili, 
215 

Ojeda.  Alonso  de :  drives  Indians  to  re- 
volt, 11;  explorations  of,  15 

Olinda,  Marquis  de:  ministry  of,  176 

Orl)cgoso,  Luis :  made  president  of  Peru, 
194;  attempts  to  revolutionize  Peru, 
196 

Ordaz,  Diego  de :  explores  the  Orinoco, 
25 


Orellana :  explores  the  Amazon,  25 
Oribe,   Ignacio:   given  command  of  the 

army  of  Uruguay,  139 
Oribe,     Manuel :     elected    president     of 

Uruguay,    139;    accepts    help    from 

Rosas,  125,  139 
Orinoco  River :  discovered,  12 ;  explored, 

25 
Ospina,    Mariano:    his    government    in 

Colombia,  85 
Otiaz :  accompanies  Pizarro,  18 
Ovando :  orders  the  execution  of  Sucre, 

84 
Ovando,    Nicolas    de :    his   governorship 

of  Hayti,  16 


Pabon:  battle  of  (1861),  130 

Pachano,  General :  made  head  of  min- 
istry, 102 

Pacheco :   president  of   Bolivia,   243 

Pacheo :  directs  the  defense  of  Monte- 
video (1842),  139 

Pacific  Ocean :  discovered,  16 

Pacific,  War  of  the,  233 

Pacocha :  occupied  by  the  Chilians 
(1880),  236 

Pacta  de  Trcgiia  (1884),  265 

Paez,  Jose  Antonio :  induces  the  llaneros 
to  join  the  revolutionists,  66;  rebels 
against  Bolivar,  81 ;  made  president 
of  Venezuela,  94;  second  adminis- 
tration of,  95 ;  minister  plenipo- 
tentiary to  the  United  States,  97; 
made  dictator,  97;  death  of,  loi 

Palacios,  Raimundo  Andueza:  president 
of  Venezuela,  246 

Palamesa,  Diego  de :  death  of,  31 

Pampas:  description  of,  118 

Panama:  Pan-American  conference  at 
(1826),  80;  made  a  free  port,  85 

Panama,  Republic  of:  created,  245 

Pan-American  Conferences:  (1826),  80; 
(1906),  255 

Para:  resists  the  creation  of  the  empire 
of  Brazil,  167 

Paraguay:  founded,  48;  revolts  from 
Spain  (1811),  69;  from  181 1  to  1876, 
147;  desired  by  Brazilians,  174; 
from  1876  to  1906,  259 

Paraguay  River:  explored,  25 


INDEX 


375 


Parahyba:  resists  the  creation  of  the 
empire  of  Brazil,  167 

Parana:  foreign  element  in,  251 

Parana  River :  explored,  25 ;  navigation 
of,  118 

Pardo,  Jose:  president  of  Peru,  242 

Pardo,  Manuel :  candidate  for  the  presi- 
dency (1872),  210;  proclaimed  presi- 
dent, 210 

Paredo:  president  of  Bolivia,  243 

Pareja  y  Septien,  Jose  Manuel:  his  ul- 
timatum to  Chili,  220;  death  of,  207, 
221 

Parra,  Aquilleo:  elected  president  of 
Colombia,  92 

Pasco,  Treaty  of   (1842),  188 

Patagonia:  discovered,  17;  dispute  over 
possession  of,  227 

Patinos :  influence  of,  152 ;  death  of,  154 

Paul  III,  Pope :  favors  the  natives  of 
Peru,   38 

Paul,  Rojas:  president  of  Venezuela, 
246 

Paulists :  influence  of,  in  Brazil,  38 

Paysandu :  pillaged  by  the  insurgents 
(1864),  143 

Paz :  directs  the  defense  of  Montevideo 
(1842),    139 

Pedraza :  accompanies  Pizarro,  18 

Pedro  I,  Emperor  of  Brazil :  advises  his 
father  to  make  concessions  to  the 
people,  165;  accession  of,  166;  ab- 
dicates crown  of  Portugal,  167 ; 
marries  Maria  Amalia  of  Leuch- 
tenberg,  168;  abdication  of,  169 

Pedro  II,  Emperor  of  Brazil:  accession 
of,  169;  crowned,  170;  summary  of 
his  reign,  170;  rule  of,  251;  abdi- 
cation of,  253 

Pellegrini,  Carlos :  his  presidency  of 
Argentina,  256 

Peiia,  Luis  Saenz :  his  presidency  of 
Argentina,  257 

Penna,  Affonso:  elected  president  of 
Brazil,  255 

Pensaqui,  Treaty  of  (1863),  113 

Penuelos:  battle  of  (i860),  219 

Pereira :  his  administration  as  president 
of  Uruguay,  141 

Perez,  General :  rebellion  of,  189 

Perez,  Jose  Joaquin:  administration  of, 
as  president  of  Chili,  219 

Perez,  Juan :  aids  Columbus,  4 


Perez,  Santiago:  his  administration  as 
president  of  Colombia,  91 

Pericliole :    see  Gallegas,   Mariquita 

Pernanibuco:  taken  by  the  Dutch,  :^;i; 
revolution  of  (1817),  164;  resists 
the  creation  of  the  empire  of  Brazil, 
167;  rebellion  of  (1848),  170; 
Jesuits  expelled  from,  178 

Peru:  conquered  by  Pizarro,  20;  Drake 
lays  waste  the  coast  of,  30;  used 
as  a  base  of  resistance  by  the 
Spanish,  57;  overthrows  Bolivar'3 
government,  82;  invaded  by  Santa 
Cruz,  186 ;  from  1825  to  1876,  192 ; 
financial  condition  of  (1878),  234; 
at  war  with  Chili,  234;  from  1876 
to  1906,  242 

Peru-Colombia  Boundary  Dispute 
(1895),  265 

Peruvian  Route  to  the  Plain  of  the 
Amazon,  A  New,  305 

Petion :  aids  South  American  revolu- 
tionists, 65 

Pezet,  Juan  Antonio:  becomes  president 
of  Peru,  201 

Philip  V,  King  of  Spain :  aids  the 
Jesuits  of  Paraguay,  48 

Pierola,  Nicolas  de:  recognized  as  presi- 
dent of  Peru,  236;  second  adminis- 
tration of,  242 

Piexoto,  Floriano :  made  president  of 
Brazil,  254 

Piloni :  his  services  in  Argentina,  130 

Pinchincha:  battle  of  (1822).  73 

Pinto,  General :  provisional  president  of 
Argentina,  127 

Pinto,  Francisco  Antonio:  president  of 
Chili,  216 

Pinzon,  Admiral :  aids  in  the  seizure  of 
the  Chincha  Islands,  203 

Pinzon,  Alonso:  attempts  to  discover 
Hayti,  7;  explores  the  northern 
coast  of  Hayti,  8;  explorations  of, 

15 
Pinzon,    Yanez:    traces    the    coasts    of 

Central  America,  16 
Pisagua:  bombarded  (1879),  235;  taken 

by  the  Chilians  (1879),  235 
Pizarro,     Francisco :     his     conquest     of 

Peru,    18;    plans  conquest  of   Chili, 

25;  death  of,  26 
Pizarro,   Gonzalo :    explorations   of,    25 ; 

defeats  Nuiiez  Vela,  27 ;  death  of,  27 


376 


INDEX 


Plaza,  Leonidas :  his  administration  as 
ruler  of  Ecuador,  244 

Polo.  ^larco:  effect  of  his  writings  on 
Columbus,  4 

Pombal,  Scbastiao  Jose  de  Carvalho  e 
Mello,  Marquis  of:  his  poHcy  in 
Brazil,  39 

Pombo :  death  of,  65 

Popayan :  insurrection  in   (1829),  83 

Portales,  Diego :  member  of  the  Op- 
position party  in  Chili,  216;  sug- 
gested as  a  presidential  candidate, 
217;  death  of,  217 

Port  Famine:  settled,  32 

Porto-Alegre,  General :  his  campaign 
against  Paraguay,   158 

Porto  Bello :  made  a  free  port.  85 

Porto  Rico:  discovered,  9;  occupied  by 
Ponce  de  Leon,   16 

Potosi:  battle  of  (1825).  182 

Ports  of  the  Spanish  Main,  Three  Old, 
318 

Prado,  Manuel :  declares  himself  dicta- 
tor in  Peru,  205;  made  dictator,  206; 
in  the  war  with  Chili,  235 

Pricto,  Joaquin :  leads  the  Opposition 
party  in  Chili,  216;  president  of 
Chili,  217;   retires  from  power,  218 

Programme  of  the  International  Con- 
ference of  American  Republics  at 
Rio  de  Janeiro  (1906),  277 

Puente:  battle  of  (1816),  65 

Puerto  Cabello:  taken  by  the  revolu- 
tionists (1823),  T2) 

Pulgar,   Venancio :    leads    rebellion,    102 

Puno:  supports  Vivanco,  196 

Punta  Arenas :  growth  of,  242 

Puy :  sketch  of,  62 

Puyredon :  holds  supreme  power  in  the 
republic  of  La  Plata,  70 

Q 

Quesada,  Gonzales  Ximencs  de :  explo- 
rations of,  21 

Quieroz,  Eusebio  de :  his  efforts  against 
slave  trade,  248 

Quintana,  Miguel:  his  presidency  of 
Argentina,  257 

Quiroga:  opposes  Rivadavia,  121;  death 
of,  124 

Quito:  destroyed  by  the  Spaniards 
(1533),   21;    battle   of    (1546),    27; 


rebels  against  Spain  (1809),  55; 
description  of,  106;  insurrection  in 
(1864),  114 

R 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter :  his  expedition  to 
South   America,  30;   death  of,  31 

Ramirez,  Juan:  rebellion  of,  119 

Rendon :  candidate  for  president  of 
Venezuela,  95 

Rcpart'imicnto,  The:  description  of,  47; 
abolished,  52 

Reyes,  Rafael :  elected  president  of  Co- 
lombia, 245 

Reynafe,  General :  death  of,   124 

Ribas,  Felix :  aids  Bolivar,  60 ;  death  of. 

63 

Ribeiro,  Juan :  in  the  rebellion  of  Per- 
nambuco,  164 

Ribera :  expels  Oribe  from  Uruguay, 
125 ;  rebellion  of,  139 

Ribcros :  given  command  of  Chilian 
fleet,  235 

Ribeyro:  policy  of,  toward  Spain,  203 

Riesco.  Jerman :  elected  president  of 
Chili   ( 1901),  240 

Riffault,  Jacques:  his  attempts  at  colo- 
nization in  Brazil.  2^2 

Rights  of  Men,  Declaration  of:  its  effect 
in  South  America,  52 

Rinjifo:  financial  administration  of,  218 

Rio  Branco,  J.  M.  da  Silva  Paranhos, 
Viscount  of:  his  efforts  against 
slavery,   248 

Rio  de  la  Hacha:  burned  by  Drake 
(1596),  30 

Rio  Grande  do  Norte :  resists  the  cre- 
ation of  the   empire   of  Brazil,    107 

Rio  Grande  do  Sul :  foreign  element  in, 
251 ;  rises  against  Fonseca,  254 

Rio  Janeiro :  taken  by  the  French 
(1711),  34;  third  Pan-American 
Conference  at   (1906),  255 

Rio  Negro:  insurrection  in  (1829),  83 

Rivadavia,  Bernardino:  made  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs  and  of  the  In- 
terior, 120;  made  president  of  Ar- 
gentine Republic,   121 

Rivarola,  Cirilo  Antonio:  member  of 
provisional  government  of  Para- 
guay, 159;  made  president  of  Para- 
guay, i6o 


INDEX 


S77 


Rivas :  joins  insurrection  of  Mitre,   135 

Robles,  Francisco  :  his  administration  as 
president  of  Ecuador,  no 

Roca,  Julio  A. :  his  presidency  of  Ar- 
gentina, 256;  his  second  administra- 
tion, 257 

Roca,  Vincente :  made  president  of  Ecu- 
ador, 109 

Rocafuerte,  Vicente :  leads  the  Liberals 
in  Ecuador,  107 ;  made  president  of 
Ecuador,  108;  obliged  to  leave 
Ecuador,  109;  death  of,  109 

Rodriguez :  made  governor  of  Buenos 
Ayres,   120 

Rojas  Paul,  Jose  Pablo:  Minister  of 
the  Interior  of  Venezuela,  97;  death 
of,    lOI 

Romaha :  president  of  Peru,  242 

Rondeau,  General :  made  provisional 
president  of  Uruguay,  137 

Root,  Elihu :  his  visit  to  South  Amer- 
ica, 255 

Rosas,  Juan  Manuel  Ortiz  de :  sketch  of, 
123;  made  dictator,  124;  fall  of,  126; 
aids  Oribe  of  Uruguay,  139 

Roseta :  defeated  by  Bolivar,  63 

Rubio,  General :  deserts  Paez,  98 


Saa,  Colonel :  crushes  insurrection  in 
the  province  of  San  Juan,  Argen- 
tina, 129 

Saavedra:  his  campaign  in  Chili,  22 

SagamoKo:  battle  of   (1819),  68 

Saguier:  president  of  Paraguay,  260 

St.  Louis,  Brazil :  founded,  33 

Salal)erry,  General :  seizes  the  govern- 
ing power  in  Peru,  195 

Salazar  y  Baquijano:  deposed  from 
power,  193 

Salazar  y  Mazarredo,  Eusebio:  seizes 
the  Chincha  Islands,  203 

Salgar,  E. :  elected  president  of  Colom- 
bia, 90 

Salles,  Manuel  Campos:  president  of 
Brazil,  255 

Sanclaniente  (San  Clemcnte),  M.  A.: 
elected  president  of  Colombia,  2|5 

San   Domingo,  Hayti :  built,  to 

San  Domingo:  sacked  by  Drake  (1580). 
30 


San  Leopoldo:  insurrection  in  (1874), 
178 

San  Lucia:  battle  of  (1842),  170 

San  Martin :  discovered,  9 

San  Martin,  General :  president  of  Chili, 
215 

San  Martin,  Jose  de:  aids  revolutionists 
in  Chili,  71 

San  Paulo:  insurrection  in  (1841),  170; 
foreign  element  in,  251 

San  Roman,  Miguel :  denounces  Lafu- 
ente,  196;  attempts  an  insurrection, 
199;  made  president  of  Peru,  201 

San  Salvador :  discovered,  6 

San  Tome:  burned  (1617),  31 

Sanchez,  Vice-president  of  Paraguay: 
death  of,  160 

Sanchez,  Manuel  Antonio :  member  of 
Council  of  State  of  Bolivia,  188 

Santa  Cruz :  discovered,  9 

Santa  Cruz,  Andres :  made  president  of 
Bolivia,  186;  invades  Peru,  186;  ar- 
rested, 188;  his  mission  to  Paris, 
189 ;  president  of  the  Supreme  Coun- 
cil of  Peru,  192;  made  protector  of 
Bolivia  and  Peru,  195;  aids  exiled 
Chilians,   217 

Santa  Catharina:  foreign  element  in,  251 

Santa  Maria :  presidency  of,  238 

Santa  Maria  de  la  Concepcion:  discov- 
ered and  named,  6 

Santa  Maria  la  Antigoa:   discovered,  9 

Santa  Maria  la  Redonda:  discovered,  9 

Santa  Marta:  founded,  16;  burned  by 
Drake   (1596),  30 

Santa  Rosa  de  Carchi,  Treaty  of 
(1846),  no 

Santander,  Francisco  de  Paula:  hon- 
ored, 84;  elected  president  of  New 
Granada,  85 

Santangel,  Luiz  de:  aids  Columbus,  4 

Santiago,  Chili:  founded,  26;  martial 
law  declared  (1858),  218;  interna- 
tional exhibition  at   (1875),  229 

Santos,  Maximo:  his  presidency  of 
Uruguay,  258 

Sarmiento,  Domingo  Faustino:  sketch 
of,  118;  made  president  of  the  Ar- 
gentine Republic,  133 

Schomburgh,  Sir  Robert:  his  mission  to 
Venezuela,  263 

Slavery :  abolished  in  Paraguay,  I55 : 
in  Brazil,  163 ;  not  recognized  by  the 


f3T8 


INDEX 


constitution  of  the  empire  of  Brazil, 
172;  slave-trade  abolished  in  Peru, 
202;  abolished  in  Chili,  217;  abol- 
lished  in  Brazil,  248 

Socorro:  rebellion  of,  52 

Solis,  Juan  Diaz  de :  traces  the  coasts 
of  Central  America,  16;  explores 
the  bay  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  17 

Sorata:  siege  of  (1780),  52 

Sotero,   General:    leads   rebellion.    loi 

Sotomayer:  wins  the  battle  of  Calama, 

234 
South  America,  History  of:  the  discov- 
ery of  America,  3;  conquest,  14; 
colonization,  36;  independence — the 
creation  of  new  nations,  54 ;  the 
United  States  of  Colombia  (1824- 
1876),  yj;  the  United  States  of 
Venezuela  (1829-1876),  94;  the  Re- 
public of  Ecuador  (1831-1876),  105; 
the  Argentine  Republic  (1820-1876), 
118;  the  Oriental  Republic  of  Uru- 
guay (1828-1876).  137;  the  Republic 
of  Paraguay  (1811-1876),  146;  the 
Empire  of  Brazil  (1808-1876),  162; 
Bolivar  and  Bolivia  (1825-1876), 
181;  Peru  (1825-1876),  192;  Chili 
(1825-1876),  215;  the  War  of  the 
Pacific — the  Andine  States  and 
Venezuela  (1876-1906),  233;  Brazil 
(1876-1906),  248;  the  states  of  the 
La  Plata  (1876- 1906),  256;  boun- 
dary disputes  (1890-1906),  261;  con- 
clusion, 266 
South  America  Fifty  Years  Hence,  378 
Spanish  Main,  Three  old  Ports  of,  318 
Stuart,  Sir  Charles :  influences  John  VI 
of  Portugal  to  acknowledge  the  in- 
dependence of  Brazil,  167 
Sucre,  Antonio  Jose  de :  wins  battle  of 
Pinchincha,  T^,;  elected  president  of 
Bolivia,  185;  overthrown  in  Bolivia, 
82 ;  death  of,  84 
Sucre  (Chuquisaca)  :  description  of,  181 
Sylva-Xavier,  Joseph  de:  attempts  to 
lead  rebellion  in  Brazil,  69 


Tacna:  battle  of  (1880).  237;  given  to 
Chili  (1883),  238;  taken  by  the  Con- 
gressionalists   (1891),  239 


Tajes,  Maximo:  his  presidency  of  Uru- 
guay, 258 
Talca:    seized   by  the    Radicals    (1859), 

219 
Talcahuano :  declared  to  be  in  a  state  of 

blockade  (1865),  221 
Tamayos,    The :    their    relations    to    the 

Europeans,  30 
Tarapaca:  battle  of   (1879).  236;  given 

to  Chili    (1881),  238;   taken  by  the 

Congressionalists    (^1891),    239 
Tarqui:  battle  of  (1829),  193 
Tavira:  recalled  from  Chili,  220 
Tcbego:  founded,  152 
Thibaut :  his  services  in  South  America, 

126,    109 
Three  Old  Ports  of  the  Spanish  Main, 

318 
Tome :    declared    to    be    in    a    state    of 

blockade  (1865),  221 
Torres :  death  of,  65 

Torrices:  aids  Bolivar,  60;  death  of,  65 
Torrico,     Juan     Crisostomo :     proclaims 

himself  dictator  of  Peru,  196 
Tovar,  Manuel  Felipe  de:  elected  presi- 
dent of  Venezuela,  97 
Trcgua,  Pacta  de  (1&84),  265 
Triana,  Rodrigo  de :  sights  land,  6 
Trinidad:  discovered,  li 
Triple  Alliance,  Treaty  of  (1865),  176 
Trouin,   Duguay:   commands  expedition 

against  Brazil,  34 
Trujillo:  his  administration  as  president 

of  Colombia,  244 
Trujillo:  rising  of  the  garrison  in,  209; 
Trujillo,  Treaty  of  (1820),  72 
Tunebos :  Indians  destroy  themselves  at, 

50 
Tunja:  rebels  against  Spanish  authority, 

56;     taken     by     the     revolutionists 

(1819),  68 
Tusmula:  battle  of  (1825),  182 

U 

Upper  Peru :  see  Bolivia 

Urban    VIII.    Pope:    favors   the  natives 

of  Brazil.  38 
Urbina,   Jose    Maria:   made   dictator  of 

Ecuador,  no;  invades  Ecuador,  114 
Ureta :     candidate     for    the     presidency 

(1872),  210 
Uribe :  his  presidency  of  Paraguay,  260 


INDEX 


379 


Uriburu,  Jose:  his  presidency  of  Argen- 
tina, 257 

Uriqua:  battle  of  (1814),  6^ 

Urquiza,  Justo  Jose  de:  joins  insurrec- 
tion against  Rosas,  126;  wins  battle 
of  Cepeda,  129;  his  power  in  Entre 
Rios,  131 

Ursua,  Pedro    de :  explorations  of,  28 

Uruguay :  from  1828  to  1876,  137 ;  from 
1876  to  1906,  258 


V,  W 

Vaca,  Nufiez  Cabeza  de :  his  government 

of  the   La   Plata  provinces,  41 
Valdivia,  Pedro  de :  his  work  in  Chili,  25 
Valencia :  occupied  by  the  revolutionists, 

73 

Valparaiso:  battle  of  (1835),  217;  mar- 
tial law  declared  (1858),  218; 
blockaded  by  Spanish  fleet  (1865), 
221;  bombarded  (1866),  207,  222; 
battle  of  (1891),  239;  incident  of  the 
Baltimore  (1891),  240 

Valverde,  Vincent  de :  accompanies 
Pizarro,   18;  death  of,  27 

Van  den  Kolk,  Admiral :  see  Kolk,  Ad- 
miral van  den 

Varela,  Pedro:  his  administration  as 
president  of  Uruguay,   146 

Vargas,  Jose :  made  president  of  Vene- 
zuela, 95 

Veintemila,  General :  attempted  rebel- 
lion of,  116;  usurps  the  power  in 
Ecuador,  244 

Vela,  Nunez :  made  viceroy  of  Peru,  27 

Velasco,  Jose  Miguel  de :  seizes  the  dic- 
tatorship in  Bolivia,  186;  made  pro- 
visional president  of  Bolivia,  187; 
arrested,  187;  recovers  his  power, 
188 

Venezuela:  declared  to  be  a  republic 
(i8n),  57;  recovered  by  the  roy- 
alists. 60;  liberated,  61;  declared  a 
republic  C1816),  66;  united  with 
New  Granada,  69;  separated  from 
Colombia,  84;  formation  of,  84; 
from  1829  to  1876,  94;  from  1876  to 
1906.  245 

Venezuela-Guiana  Boimdary  Dispute 
(1840- 1897),  263 


Vera  Cruz:  taken  by  Drake  (1573),  30 

Vespucci,  Amerigo:  accompanies  Ojeda, 
IS ;  gives  his  name  to  the  New 
World,  16 

Vicuna,  Claudio :  elected  president  of 
Chili   by  the   Balmacedists,   239 

Vidal:  leads  rebellion  against  foreign 
rule  in  Brazil,  33 

Vidal :  proclaims  himself  supreme  head 
of  Peru,  196 

Vidal,  Francisco  A. :  made  acting  presi- 
dent of  Uruguay,  144;  made  presi- 
dent of  Uruguay,  258 

Vidaure :  opposes  plans  of  Bolivar,  80 

Vieira,  Fernandez :  leads  rebellion 
against  foreign  rule  in  Brazil,  33 

Villalba:  elected  president  of  Uruguay, 
144 

Villegagnon :  settled,  29 

Villekens,  Admiral :  his  expedition 
against  Brazil,  33 

Villeta:  battle  of  (1868),  159 

Virasoro :  assassinated,  129 

]"irgen  de  Covadonga:  captured  by  the 
Esmeralda,  221 

Vivanco,  Colonel :  rebellion  of,  196 ;  sup- 
ports the  claims  of  Vidal,  196;  made 
president  of  Peru,  197 ;  defeated  by 
Castilla,  199;  attempts  an  insurrec- 
tion, 199;  his  negotiations  with 
Spain,  205 

Vivanco,  Cipriana  Latorre  de :  sketch  of, 

197 
Wood :  explorations  of,  34 


X,  Y,Z 

Yahez:   defeated  by  Bohvar,  63 
Yanez,    Colonel :    leads    insurrection    in 

La  Paz,  188;  death  of,  189 
Yegros,    Fulgencio :    made    president   of 

Paraguay,  147;  death  of,  153 
Ylo:   occupied  by  the   Chilians    (1880), 

236 
Yguain,  General:  aids  Castilla,  199 
Zacarias  de   Goes  e  Vasconcellos :   first 

and  second  ministries  of,  176;  third 

ministry  of,    176 
Zea,    Antonio:    sanctions    the   union    of 

New  Granada  and  Venezuela,  69 


